Watch: Oklahoma Teacher Brings Anti-LGBTQ Theology into Classroom
A mother has vowed to seek change after a schoolteacher in Frederick, Oklahoma allegedly brought theology into the classroom with remarks that LGBTQ people were "sinful," local news station KFOR reports.
A 12-year-old student at Frederick Middle School named Karagyn Snodgrass called her mother, upset at what she had heard in the classroom, the news station reported.
"The teacher said it's sinful to be trans and change your body," Karagyn told the news station. "It was very infuriating, because I have a lot of friends that are LGBTQ, and then I am," the sixth grader, who identifies as pansexual, added.
Her mother Dawn was just as upset if not more so. "When she called me, I was shaking and crying, and I couldn't even form thoughts," Dawn Snodgrass said. "I was very upset."
Speaking with another local news channel, KSWO, Dawn added that Karagyn had been "bullied, in a sense, because she is part of the LGBTQ community.
"Small town Oklahoma schools, a lot of the time they do talk about religion," Dawn added. "The counselor had brought up that even in her counseling sessions, she talks about religion and uses it as a reference, and that's not okay, either."
According to Karagyn, this was only the latest example of classroom discussions about LGBTQ people that carry religious overtones. KFOR said that on previous occasions also, class time discussion "turned to scripture and the penalty they said was brought upon gay people in biblical times.
"And they brought up the Bible and that they were killing [LGBTQ people] back then," Karagyn said. "There was no reason for that to be brought up."
The 12-year-old told KSWO, "There are multiple kids in the classroom that have family members or friends or someone - themselves - a part of the community as well, so they were probably hurt by this, as well."
Dawn, furious, confronted the school's administration, only for the principal to tell her that Karagyn's teacher "knew what she had done and that she won't do it again," she told KFOR.
"The story remained the same throughout," Dawn said to KSWO. "That that is what happened, and he said he talked to the teacher, and she's horrified and apologized. I told him that's not really enough. Something else needs to happen."
"I will not tolerate my daughter or that class being singled out," Dawn declared.
School superintendent Shannon Vanderburg told the news station, "Students can obviously ask questions about a variety of topics," but added that, "in a classroom setting with multiple people present, that may not be the proper forum" for commentary about the LGBTQ community.
"We try to create an environment here where all students can pursue their education unimpeded," Vanderburg said.
Dawn Snodgrass continues to meet with school administrators. "I would hope that policies are put into place moving forward to protect not only the LGBTQ community, but the student body as a whole," she told KSWO. "I mean, from all religious backgrounds, all viewpoints."
Watch the KFOR news clip below.