North Carolina Teacher Resigns After Using Flashcard Showing Pregnant Man to Teach Preschoolers

LGBT-themed flashcards had been used in a preschool classroom at North Carolina's Ballentine Elementary School as a way to teach about colors. (North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore)

A North Carolina teacher has resigned after being exposed using LGBT-themed flashcards, including one depicting a pregnant man, to teach preschoolers about colors.

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican, shared photos of the cards on his personal website. He said the images were emailed to state Rep. Erin Paré by one of her constituents.

The cards in question appear to be from a 12-piece bundle called “Progress Pride Flag Rainbow Families.” An online description for the card set says the “custom-designed illustrations celebrate LGBT2SQ+ Families of diverse races, ages, sexualities, genders, and abilities.”

According to Moore, Paré reached out to the Ballentine Elementary School, where the cards had been allegedly used in a preschool classroom to teach colors. The school’s principal confirmed the claims, stressing that the cards were not part of any approved curriculum.

The Wake County Public School System, of which Ballentine is a member, reiterated that the flashcards were not part of its curriculum and called them an “inappropriate instructional resource found in a preschool classroom.”

“An initial review determined that flashcards were not tied to the district’s Pre-K curriculum, did not complement, enrich or extend the curriculum and were used without the principal’s review, knowledge and/or approval,” a spokesperson for the school district said.

The preschool teacher, who was not immediately identified, has also resigned, the spokesperson added.

The incident comes as North Carolina Republicans seek to pass a bill that affirms parents’ rights to direct their children’s upbringing, including the right to be informed of conversations the school has with their child about sex and gender.

The bill, similar to one that recently became law in Florida, would ban public school curricula for grades K through 3 from containing instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. It would also require North Carolina schools to tell parents if their child wants to be referred to by a different name or pronoun, as well as ask for parents’ consent before providing the child with any counseling service or other non-emergency health care.

In addition, the bill would allow parents to sue the school that fails to address concerns about their parental rights. Any health care provider that fails to obtain parents’ consent before giving non-emergency medical treatments for their child would also face penalties, including fines of up to $5,000.

The proposed measures will be added to an existing curriculum transparency bill, which would guarantee that parents have the right to review and object to textbooks and supplementary materials, to seek a medical or religious exemption from immunization requirements for their child, and to see which books their child has borrowed from the school library.

“Parents want to be more involved in their child’s education. This proposal strengthens the relationship between schools and parents,” state Senate leader Phil Berger said at a May 24 press conference. “The bill is about transparency and trust in our public schools. The more open communication school personnel have with parents about a child’s education and well-being the better.”