Vermont school removes ‘male,’ ‘female’ terms from reproductive system lessons

A Vermont elementary school says it will no longer use the words “male” or “female” when teaching fifth-grade students about puberty and human reproductive systems.

Families of students at Founders Memorial School received a letter on April 20 informing them of the changes to the science and health curriculum.

The changes reflect the district’s desire to use “gender inclusive language,” Principal Sara Jablonski wrote in the letter.

“In an effort to align our curriculum with our equity policy, teachers will be using gender inclusive language throughout this unit. With any differences, we strive to use ‘person-first’ language as best practice,” Jablonski wrote.

Instead of referring to a person as a “boy” or “male,” teachers will say “person who produces sperm.” Likewise, they will no longer say “girl” or “female” but “person who produces eggs.”

The Essex Westford School District noted in the letter that teachers were working on editing worksheets to reflect the new changes.

While teaching students about the human body, the district said it will focus on “the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty and briefly introduce the basic structure and function of human reproductive systems.”

Parents and guardians interested in viewing the materials themselves were told a binder containing the handouts can be found in the school’s main office.

The director of outreach for parents’ rights group Parents Defending Education shared the letter on Twitter.

“New language rules just dropped for 5th graders in Vermont and they don’t include the words boy and girl or male and female,” wrote Erika Sanzi.

Caroline Moore, the vice president of Parents Defending Education, blasted the change in a statement to The Post Wednesday afternoon.

“This manipulation of elementary anatomy and physiology is a bridge too far and a precursor to what we will see everywhere if the proposed changes to Title IX go into effect,” Moore said.

“A boy is a boy and a girl is a girl. We all know this. So why are we pretending we don’t? This is the primary way to differentiate human beings at birth, not “assigned” like a class project. You cannot politically correct yourself out of this.”

The letter received mixed reactions on Twitter, with some users comparing the practice to Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel “Brave New World” while others called for students to be pulled from public schools.

“Absurd. A person who produces sperm is, by definition, a male. A person who produces eggs is, by definition, a female,” one Twitter user wrote. “And sex is not ‘assigned’ at birth, it’s observed at birth. How exhausting all this nonsense is.”

The Essex Westford School District’s school board adopted a new equity policy in June 2021, under which schools would “use anti-racist and LGBTQIA+ affirming perspectives to inform curriculum decisions starting in Pre-K,” the Burlington Free-Press reported at the time.

The policy passed in an 8-1 vote.

The Essex Westford School District did not reply to a request for comment from The Post Wednesday morning.