By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
COVINGTON – St. Tammany School Board Member Michelle Hirstius said she is satisfied with the approval of a companion guide to the public school AP Psychology course that will be written by a local committee to provide a balanced explanation of the topic of transgenderism for students taking the course.
Hirstius was surprised to find the topic addressed in one of the AP Psychology chapters when she was reviewing the book that was among dozens the School Board had to approve for the next school term.
Hirstius said the most stunning fact to the topic was that it was presented in the book without any balance, that is, stating the negative aspects that may arise from individuals who decide to go through a sex change operation, or the high rate of suicide for those who change sex.
When the first term School Board member brought the topic up at the Committee as a Whole meeting two weeks ago, she initially said she didn’t think the course should be taught at all because, “we don’t need to be teaching high school kids about this.”
But after a suggestion from Superintendent Frankie Jabbia to write a companion guide that would be taught within the course, bringing balance to the information presented, Hirstius adjusted her position and agreed. The full School Board meeting last Thursday night led to a vote to approve the curriculum package as a whole, which includes a companion guide to be written for that chapter. Hirstius will be one of the committee members.
Dr. Melissa Langlois, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction with the school system, said the AP Psychology course is not required for students, but is optional to earn college credit. Students can also take a regular Psychology course as early as their junior year in high school.
Psychology textbooks are aligned to the National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula from the American Psychological Association. The books have content standards that teach topics about gender and sexual orientation.
All books that the School Board considers for the new year are available for public review for seven weeks at eight area high schools, as well as two of the School Board administrative centers. Many books are also available online to be reviewed.
Once the school system receives comments and feedback from parents or others, the ultimate decision for what textbooks to use is made by teachers who vote for them, leading to the School Board putting the final stamp of approval on the books.
Langlois explained at the first meeting that even though the school system has a list of recommended books from the state for the Psychology courses, “all of the books have this same information.”
The AP Psychology books have a small section in the “Gender Development” chapter that discusses the topic of transgender individuals. It states, “a person may feel like a man in a woman’s body, or a woman in a man’s body.” There is no mention of the fact a large percentage of Americans do not believe people are born in the wrong body.
Hirstius was unhappy with the general information since she believed that suggested it was a fact that some people are born in the wrong body and therefore need to undergo sex change operations.
“I don’t believe God makes mistakes,” she stated.
One other School Board member, Dr. Michael Peterson, said during the meeting that he also had a problem with some of the information since, “they are portraying it as scientific information that is not even validated. I appreciate your concern,” he said to Hirstius.
However, in the end, the School Board voted to approve the new curriculum, and Hirstius said, “I think the guide will accomplish what I wanted it to do—give both sides of this story.”
She especially was concerned that there was no mention in the chapter of the increased issues with depression, anxiety and suicide that transgender individuals deal with. One survey that Hirstius pointed out said that those who change their sex are 12 times more likely to commit suicide later in life.
The section on transgenderism states there are “multiple gender identities” and that some children suffer “distress” due to what they believe to be the difference in the sex they were assigned at birth, and what they think their gender identity should be. While supporters of sex change operations believe the answer is to go through the surgery, several church leaders believe that counseling over time will help the individual become comfortable with the issue.
Hirstius said that while she was happy with the final vote on the companion guide, she was more concerned that the School Board is continuing to spend millions of dollars on new textbooks when the U.S. Department of Education is being dismantled by President Donald Trump.
“We shouldn’t even be spending this money right now since we don’t know what the future is going to be,” she said. “We may spend all this money this year and then the books are not of any use a year later. We should have our own curriculum people write something to get us through the year using the books we have, then see what happens with this change.”