The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is promoting a self-assessment tool for “school and district staff who are interested in facilitating a more inclusive environment for LGBTQ students.”

The taxpayer-funded federal agency’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) promoted “LGBTQ Inclusivity in Schools: A Self-Assessment Tool” on social media:

According to the CDC website, the agency “works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats” and “fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.”

It pledges to “be a diligent steward of the funds entrusted to our agency” and “base all public health decisions on the highest quality scientific data that is derived openly and objectively.”

But the self-assessment tool – and the DASH website – demonstrates that the CDC is spending money promoting sexual issues and gender ideology that are not rooted in science. It also gives parents another reason to pay attention to what is happening in public schools and take action to protect children from this woke dogma that attacks Christian beliefs about human identity, sexuality, relationships, marriage and family.

“LGBTQ Inclusivity in Schools” was initially released in October 2020 and developed with NORC (National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago. It offers a general assessment for all users, followed by specific assessments for school administrators, educators and health services staff. Health services can include school doctors’ and nurses’ offices, counseling centers, and health clinics.

Here are some sample items from these self-assessments:

  • I cannot assume a student’s gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
  • I use students’ chosen name(s) in all school environments, including abbreviations and pronouns.
  • I participate in my schools’ Gay Straight Alliance/Genders and Sexualities Alliance.
  • The policy(s) in place allows students to use the bathroom/locker room which aligns to their chosen gender.
  • The technology policies allow student access to age-appropriate LGBTQ content and information (e.g., LGBTQ-specific media, public health and education organizations, and entertainment sites).
  • My classroom or learning space includes visual labels (e.g., rainbow flags, pink triangles, unisex bathroom signs) marking it as a safe space for LGBTQ students.
  • I attend training and professional development focused on creating safe and supportive environments for LGBTQ students.
  • During sexual health education lessons, I present information on all types of sex, not centering on penis/vagina penetrative sex.
  • During sexual health education lessons, I describe anatomy and physiology separate from gender (e.g., “a body with a penis,” “a body with a vagina”).
  • Our school nurse’s office/health clinic uses inclusive intake forms (e.g., uses the ‘two-step’ method that asks for both gender identity and sex at birth, including write-in options).
  • I work to ensure access to providers not on school property who have experience in providing social and psychological services to LGBTQ students.

Users can score themselves and their school on the total number of As, Bs and Cs (No Ds or Fs allowed for our education experts!), placing themselves on an “LGBT Inclusivity Continuum”:

“LGBTQ Inclusivity in Schools” also offers a “collection of curated resources and tools to help schools enhance LGBTQ inclusive policies, programs, and practices.”

Those “curated resources and tools” include multiple links to radical activist groups like GLSEN (formerly the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network); GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation); the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT activist group in America; and Gender Spectrum, whose “mission is to create gender sensitive and inclusive environments for all children and teens.”

HRC and Gender Spectrum offer the school programs “Welcoming Schools” and “Creating Gender Inclusive Schools”, which celebrate homosexuality and transgenderism – for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grades.

The DASH self-assessment resource provides links to tools like “The Genderbread Person” and “The Gender Unicorn” to introduce young children to gender dogma. And, it links to the “Future of Sex Education” website, which is rooted in ideology that says children have sexual rights at any age, including the right to sexual pleasure.

“LGBTQ Inclusivity in Schools” includes a mild disclaimer that opinions and idea from these groups and resources “do not represent the official opinion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But why, then, include all those links and list these groups as resources – both in the self-assessment and on the DASH website? Along with these activist groups, the unelected bureaucrats at the CDC are working to confuse and sexualize children.

It is clear that the CDC has bought into an unscientific ideology that teaches:

  • Sexual attractions and behaviors define a person’s identity.
  • “Sexual orientation” is a concrete, measurable scientific concept, representing something innate and unchangeable in an individual.
  • “Gender identity” is separate from a person’s biological sex.
  • Children, adolescents and teens can have a “gender identity” distinct from being male or female.
  • People can change from one sex to the other.
  • “Transitioning” children and adolescents socially, and then with drugs, hormones and surgeries, helps children.

None of these are scientific statements. They lead to great physical, emotional and spiritual damage. The CDC’s sexual dogma pushes children toward great harm.

And this ideology opposes a biblical worldview, which is rooted in the reality that there are two kinds of humans – male and female – and that marriage is the union of a husband and wife. When promoted in schools, the CDC’s sexual ideology threatens privacy and safety, parents’ rights, and religious freedom.

Parents and other concerned citizens must become aware of what schoolchildren are taught about identity, relationships, sexuality and marriage – and take action. We can have compassion for those struggling with these issues while protecting children from indoctrination in a destructive, false ideology

Focus on the Family has resources to help parents give their children a solid, biblical worldview and take appropriate action to fight this ideology in schools:

Are People Born Gay? A look at what the research shows and what it means for you

Back to School – For Parents – A busy parent’s guide to what’s happening in your children’s classrooms and practical steps you can take to protect them

Focus on the Family Homosexuality Resources

Focus on the Family Transgender Resources

Focus on the Family Understanding Homosexuality

How to Talk to Your Children About Homosexuality: A guide for parents

How to Teach Your Children About Marriage: Creative and practical ideas

Raising Children Who Honor Marriage: What you need to know

When Transgender Issues Enter Your World: How Christians can respond with compassion, courage and truth