‘Intolerant, Homophobic:’ CA Mother Claims Special Needs Teenager Was Targeted for Not Embracing LGBT Lessons

A mother is claiming her special needs daughter is under attack by her own high school teachers in California, who allegedly called her a “bigot” after she mistakenly forgot to use someone’s fake gender pronouns, objected to participating in a lesson about lesbian sex — which involved a lecture on “scissoring” — and refused to get undressed near male teachers.

Marina Vivar has checked a box excusing her daughter from being taught about “anything LGBTQ+ or about sexual acts which were gay in nature,” when signing her up for a course on health and relationships at Glendale High School, according to a report by Fox News.

But her decision to exempt her special needs daughter from learning about LGBT content was not respected by the school, the mother said, adding that her daughter, Thelma Gonzalez, was taught about lesbian sex.

Furthermore, teachers called her daughter a “bigot, intolerant and homophobic,” Vivar said, noting that her family doesn’t use those terms at home, and Gonzalez’s disability prevents her from finding those words in her own. Therefore, she only could have learned them in school.

“My teachers were going to send me to the principal office when I told them that it was against my beliefs and that I felt uncomfortable,” Gonzalez said. Additionally, the student said that she felt uncomfortable changing for gym class.

“I once got in trouble in the girls’ locker room because I did not dress down in front of other people,” she said. “There are male teachers inside the girls’ locker room talking to Ms. Lewis. Her office [which is inside the locker room] has her door open and there are male teachers inside her office.”

“I never wanted to see that, that’s why I don’t dress out to P.E. I was scared, I was terrified, because I was afraid of an adult male staring at me while I was changing. That’s why I don’t change,” the teen added.

Glendale High Communications Director Kristine Nam disputes the claims, telling Fox News that “the lesson Ms. Vivar is referencing was a general lesson from the health textbook about making healthy decisions in your relationships. The teacher did ask Ms. Vivar’s daughter to refrain from making inappropriate remarks in response to a reference to LGBTQ+ relationships.”

“At no point would a male teacher or coach have reason to enter the girls’ locker room. Male and female coaches have separate offices and these offices are completely separate from the locker room changing areas,” Nam added. “Even if a male coach were to enter the female coaches’ office, the office does not have a window into the girls’ locker room. It is a completely different space separated by a brick wall.”

Nonetheless, the Glendale Unified School District has been slammed in recent months in the wake of a new policy that permits teachers to lie to parents about a student’s gender identity, and after the district sent LGBTQ+ educational materials to teachers for use during pride month without parental knowledge, Fox News noted.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.