A school in California is at the centre of a dispute after a kindergarten teacher educated her class about what it means to be transgender, CBS reports.
The teacher at The Rocklin Academy in Sacramento used books including I Am Jazz by teen activist Jazz Jennings to help her class understand the experience of transgender children.
She initiated the discussion because one of her 5-year-old students is currently transitioning.
While some parents have praised the progressive lesson plan—others have been outraged that they weren't notified about the lesson.
"I want her to hear from me as a parent what her gender identity means to her and our family, not from a book that may be controversial," one parent said at a school board meeting this week.
"My daughter came home crying and shaking so afraid she could turn into a boy," said another.
"These parents feel betrayed by the school district that they were not notified," Karen England from the Capitol Resource Institute told CBS.
One parent said she was proud of how her son responded to learning about transgender children.
"It was so precious to see that he had absolutely no prejudice in his body,” she said.
“My child just went in there and listened to the story, and didn't relate it to anything malicious, or didn't question his own body.”
Transgender actress and rights activity Laverne Cox has previously said she wished she had been introduced to a book like ‘I Am Jazz’ when she was a child struggling with gender identity questions.
"This is an essential tool for parents and teachers to share with children whether those kids identify as trans or not,” she said of the book.
California has a progressive sex education curriculum but parents are notified of lessons and have the option to pull their child out of class. There are no rules prohibiting the discussion of gender identity in a classroom.
