We, Kentucky Teachers of the Year, denounce legislation targeting LGBTQ students: Opinion

Kentucky Teachers of the Year
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Being a young person is difficult in this moment because schools have become the proxy battle of a culture war being fought by two impassioned sides.

Teachers must navigate this moment with care, showing respect not only for every single student, but also for their families and their communities. We believe that teaching is not about directing students to become any specific version of a person: teaching is about giving students and families the resources to become the best versions of themselves as they direct their own beliefs.

We believe in teaching reading, writing skills, mathematics, science, history and a wide range of elective offerings that meet the needs and goals of families and communities. We believe in showing and teaching basic kindness, empathy and respect for all students and communities.

As such, we, the undersigned current and former Kentucky Teachers of the Year, formally denounce the proposed legislation targeting LGBTQ students, their families and their rights to freely choose their own destiny without government intervention, particularly intervention shown to be harmful to students' sense of self-worth, to remove parents' rights and to run contrary to the medical advice of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, National Association of Social Workers, American Public Health Association, and the American Psychological Association.

We specifically oppose Kentucky Senate Bill 150, Kentucky House Bills 173, 177, and 470 and any other legislation that removes parents' rights to determine the lives of their own children, including their healthcare or ways of being called, as well as any legislation that separates children from their classmates or requires schools to document or pathologize students' behaviors or identities.

Signed:Mandy Perez, 2023 Kentucky Teacher of the YearWillie Carver, 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the YearDonnie Piercey, 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the YearErin Ball, 2020 Kentucky Teacher of the YearJessica Dueñas, 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the YearKellie Clark, 2018 Kentucky Teacher of the YearRon Skillern, 2017 Kentucky Teacher of the YearAshley Lamb-Sinclair, 2016 Kentucky Teacher of the YearSarah Reed, 2015 Kentucky Teacher of the YearHolly Bloodworth, 2014 Kentucky Teacher of the YearKimberly Shearer, 2012 Kentucky Teacher of the YearErika Schmelzer Webb, 2011 Kentucky Teacher of the YearDurell "Butch" Hamm, 2010 Kentucky Teacher of the YearChandra Emerson, 2008 Kentucky Teacher of the YearPatrice McCrary, 2003 Kentucky Teacher of the Year

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: We, KY Teachers of the Year, denounce anti-LGBTQ student legislation.