Textbook publishers distance themselves from K-12 gender identity materials

Leading textbook publishers Scholastic and Pearson have distanced themselves from a push to replace biological sex with gender identity in K-12 classroom discussions after the conservative Heritage Foundation publicized their materials.

Heritage education analyst Jonathan Butcher reported last month that Scholastic had published an online Resource Guide for K-12 "educators, caregivers, and advocates" to accompany its "Read With Pride" series of children's books. Titles in the series include "My Moms Love Me" for "the youngest reader" and LGBT graphic novels for young adults.

The guide vanished from Scholastic's website at the end of June without explanation, leaving only the "Read With Pride" page. Based in New York, Scholastic is one of the world's largest publishers of classroom fiction reading.

"The Read with Pride Guide was a resource for adults available for Pride Month and is not a textbook for students," Anne Sparkman, a Scholastic spokeswoman, told The Washington Times.

An archived web copy of the guide showed that a glossary includes definitions of terms such as "agender" (people with no gender identity), "allocishet" ("people whose gender and sexuality are privileged by society") and "genderfluid" (people with fluctuating gender identities) to instruct adults working with K-12 students.

"We are experiencing an undeniable, joyous boom of queer literature for children and young adults of all ages, but it can be difficult to stay up to date on the latest quality representation," the Scholastic guide states. "You'll find suggested resources for finding diverse LGBTQIA+ children's and young adult literature included in this guide."

London-based Pearson , the world's largest academic publisher, removed editorial guidelines highlighting "genderism" and "antiracism" from its website last year.

In a June 2023 staff editorial, the New York Post said the guidelines and related videos disappeared shortly after Mr. Butcher reported about them.

However, Pearson's website continue to advertise a sociology book that Mr. Butcher said promotes "the use of gender identity over biological sex to describe individuals" in student-teacher conversations.

A Pearson spokesperson said in an email the book is intended only for college students and advanced teenagers. The email noted that Pearson sold its K-12 publishing business in 2019.

"States and school districts can still purchase select college level Pearson textbooks they deem appropriate for their advanced high school courses," the spokesperson said. "However, the book referenced is not available for adoption in the high schools or the K-12 market."

Mr. Butcher said it's unsurprising that Scholastic and Pearson removed their most controversial materials from public access.

He pointed to a Pew survey released in February that found half of K-12 teachers said students shouldn't learn about gender in school. By comparison, 33% of teachers said children should know their gender identity can differ from the sex assigned at birth.

"The pushback on these ideas is strong and the publishers don't know how to defend them when reporters, policy analysts or parents question what they are doing," Mr. Butcher said. "Why would you show something to teachers and parents if you didn't expect it to reach students?"

According to the archived website, Scholastic's Reading With Pride Resource Guide includes as sources the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center and the Trevor Project, an LGBT suicide hotline.

Last year, the conservative Consumers' Research flagged the Trevor Project with a "woke alert" for hosting a chatroom for gender-questioning adolescents without age-verification procedures.

In his report last month, Mr. Butcher pointed out that the SPLC's education arm decries "binary notions" of sexuality and offers "tools and practices" for discussing gender identity with "students of all ages."

The Times has reached out to SPLC and the Trevor Project for comment.

Some conservative parental rights groups said most parents don't want their children experimenting with gender transitions in grade school and middle school.

"Not everyone is going along with this illusion that there are more than two sexes, both of which are biologically determined," said Sheri Few, founder and president of U.S. Parents Involved in Education. "In fact, resistance is building."

As November's election approaches, sexuality has become a hot-button political issue.

The Biden administration has moved to redefine biological sex as gender identity in federal civil rights statutes. Such changes could require K-12 schools to let transgender and nonbinary students use the pronouns, restrooms and sports facilities of their choice.

Public school districts nationwide have enacted policies instructing teachers to support students in identifying as the gender of choice on campus, without informing unsupportive parents of the change.

On the other side, more than a half-dozen conservative states from Arkansas to Utah have adopted laws requiring that schools use the sex on students' birth certificates unless they receive parental consent to do otherwise.

According to Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor in the history of education at the University of Pennsylvania, the Scholastic and Pearson controversies reflect the "fundamental fact" that Americans disagree about the meanings of sex and gender.

"The real question is whether we have enough faith in our teachers and in ourselves to air those disagreements in our schools," Mr. Zimmerman said. "I understand why parents are concerned that their children might be indoctrinated with one view or another, but the answer to that problem is not to remove the issue from discussion."