MISEDUCATION

Colorado Says Little Kids Can’t Learn About LGBTQ Issues

A committee revising state curriculum issues says they received backlash after plans to include the historical contributions and perspectives of LGBTQ people.

Children under fourth grade in Colorado are too young to learn about the experiences of LGBTQ people, according to a committee working on a new state curriculum. The group had initially decided to include the historical contributions and perspectives of Black, Latino, Native American and LGBTQ individuals as part of an updated curriculum, but decided to remove the LGBTQ segment after receiving “numerous concerns” about “the age appropriateness of referencing LGBTQ in lower grades,” according to The Denver Post, which saw a presentation scheduled for next week. Melissa Colsman, associate commissioner of student learning at the Colorado Department of Education, suggested local schools could still decide to include the material, saying that the state standards are a “floor, not a ceiling.”