by Reagan Reese and Megan Brock
An Illinois children’s hospital is charging school districts thousands of dollars for a sex education workshop that features lessons on how to teach kids about anal sex and gender identity, according to documents obtained through a public records request by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is charging school districts up to $1,500 for a presentation to educators on “inclusive sexual health ed practices” that promotes the National Sexuality Education Standards (NSES), a K-12 sexual education curriculum, according to a copy of the presentation obtained by the DCNF through a public records request. The presentation recommends that fifth graders should learn several different sexual orientations, while eighth graders should be taught about anal and oral sex.
The NSES, which the presentation notes is in line with Illinois law if schools choose to adopt it, was created by a coalition of organizations part of the Future of Sex Education (FoSE) Initiative, including several LGBTQ activist groups and Planned Parenthood.
The Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago charges public schools for several services, including a “student facing” presentation for $150, a question-and-answer workshop for $750 and an “inclusive sexual health ed practices” seminar that can either be “$1500 for one 90 minute workshop or $1000 per 90 minute workshop for a series,” according to a November 2022 email from a hospital official to an administrator with Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96.
The Community Consolidated Illinois School District 15 paid the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago $3,150 in January 2023 for three “inclusive sexual health ed practices” professional development sessions, according to documents.
The hospital allows schools to customize its sample workshop for its “inclusive sexual health ed practices,” which includes different grade-level standards of the NSES, the hospital’s sexuality education program coordinator said in the November 2022 email. The workshop aims to provide school districts with “an overview of updated policy and resources” on sexual education curriculums while helping educators practice the use of “gender & LGBTQ+ inclusive communication for personal health & sexual health education,” according to the presentation obtained by the DCNF.
Under the NSES, by eighth grade, students should be able to define anal, oral and vaginal sex as well as explain several sexual orientation definitions including “heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, two-spirit, asexual [and] pansexual,” the presentation states. The hospital presentation notes that the standards require fifth graders to be able to distinguish the difference between sex assigned at birth and gender identity.
The NSES notes that fifth graders should also be able to explain that “gender expression and gender identity exist along a spectrum,” as well as be able to evaluate how gender stereotypes may impact themselves and others, the presentation states.
Through the eighth-grade curriculum of the NSES, students should be able to analyze how their family and peers may “influence” their attitudes toward “gender, gender identity, gender roles and gender expression,” the presentation explains. Students should also be able to “access medically accurate sources of information about gender, gender identity and gender expression” by the end of eighth grade, the presentation states.
When talking about puberty with fifth and sixth graders, the presentation advises educators to use gender-neutral language such as “people who menstruate,” “people with penises,” “people with testicles” and “people with vulvas.” The presentation offers sample slides for fifth and sixth-grade sexual education lessons on testicle and vulva anatomy.
Another sample slide for fifth and sixth graders explains “wet dreams,” ejaculation and semen, the documents show.
The hospital’s “inclusive sexual health ed practices” workshop also includes a lesson on gender-neutral language, noting that individuals should avoid using phrases such as “ladies” and “gentlemen,” and instead use “friends” and “folks” in order to be more inclusive.
The Illinois legislature is considering a bill that would mandate K-12 school districts to adopt sexual education lessons in accordance with the NSES. Under current law, Illinois schools districts can voluntarily adopt NSES standards.
Representatives from left-wing organizations are listed as “creators and reviewers” of the NSES, including Planned Parenthood; the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ activist group; Gender Spectrum, an activist organization for gender diverse teens; and GLSEN, a nationally known LGBTQ activist organization that pushes policies to keep a child’s gender transition from their parents, the presentation shows.
“NSES come to us from a diverse group of professionals with expertise in sexuality, public education, public health, social justices, psychology, child & adolescent medicine,” the Lurie Children’s presentation says.
The hospital also recommends its “favorite books” for eight-year-olds including “Sex Is A Funny Word,” a comic book for kids about sexual orientation and gender identity, and “You Know, Sex” for 12-year-olds, a book that discusses sex education grounded in social justice, the presentation states.
The Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago recently came under scrutiny for a series of videos it created that feature adults talking to children about transgenderism and sexual orientation. In September 2022, it was revealed that the hospital was partnering with local school districts to promote sex toys and gender-affirming items.
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Reagan Reese and Megan Brock are reporters at is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago” by Rotor Guru. CC BY-SA 4.0.
