APEX / WAKE COUNTY — A fourth-grade student told the Wake County Board of Education during public comment that she does not want a music teacher who was born male and presents as a woman in her classroom, saying the arrangement makes her feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
Speaking at the board podium, the girl said: “If I had a teacher that was born a man, wears a dress and makeup, that would make me feel weird because it would also make other kids maybe dress up and be something they aren’t.”
She continued: “God made us only a girl or a boy at birth. Anything else is confusing. I want to learn at school, not be confused. I want to feel safe.”
She asked board members: “A man teacher dress as a woman and acts like a woman scares me. Please protect me and other kids.”
According to parents who addressed the board, Middle Creek Elementary School in Apex assigned a biological male music teacher who presents as a woman to a required music class that includes kindergarten students. Parents say families were not notified in advance and that requests to opt children out have been refused.
Aaron Driver, a father of three children at the school including twin five-year-olds, told the board that families were advised that if they object they can leave the public school system their taxes already support.
Some parents say they now check their children out of school twice a week, sit with them in the library during the music period, and return them to class afterward.
Parents citing the dispute also point to North Carolina law that restricts gender identity instruction in kindergarten through fourth grade. Catawba First News has not independently reviewed the district’s personnel file or the full board recording for this report.
Catawba First News covers state and local education policy that affects North Carolina families. Tips: [email protected].
