Neither state nor federal law mandates Mattingly’s lesson or the assignments that she provided to her first-year students. King told The Center Square that she felt like the district was “sneaking” this in; her grandchild experienced something similar not too long ago in middle school, so this is nothing new, she said.

“We should love everybody, but this is indoctrinating values that a lot of people would not agree with, and it has nothing to do with education,” King told The Center Square last week. “I thought they did have to tell us about all of that and let us know so we can opt out of those things if we want.”

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in June requiring schools to provide advance notice and allow students to opt out of LGBTQ-themed lessons on religious grounds. CSD Assistant Superintendent Tom Arlt told The Center Square that Mattingly had given parents a heads-up about this more than once.

Each student took home a syllabus at the beginning of the year for their parents to sign. It included a brief rundown of each unit for the year, starting with a lesson around “personal identity.” However, the syllabus doesn’t mention anything regarding gender, sexual orientation or “how to be an LGBTQ+ ally.”

The Center Square emailed Arlt, Mattingly, and other district officials several questions on Oct. 23, but didn’t receive a response until a week later, after leaving several voicemails. Arlt explained that he would be the point of contact for all of The Center Square’s questions and would need a few more days. 

He responded to a few questions on Tuesday, four days later, with brief responses, noting that no one had filed a complaint. Arlt did not respond to the questions sent to Mattingly. The Center Square sent Arlt another email asking him to answer those as well, but he didn’t respond before publishing on Thursday.

“The ELA 9: Unit Newsletter: Issue 1 was distributed at least one week prior to the unit beginning and also uploaded to Google Classroom,” Arlt emailed. “All students were asked if they had requested and or wanted to opt out. If so, they were allowed to access alternate assignments in another location.”

Mattingly uploads a newsletter to Google Classroom about a week before each new unit so parents can see what students are working on, including assignments and some class materials. She did so before this unit in September and included references to gender and sexual orientation, unlike the syllabus.

“Why would you look for something inappropriate in a syllabus for English class? Obviously, we have to start watching everything like a hawk,” King told The Center Square. “You know every parent probably just signs that thinking nothing of looking over it because it’s English class… We’ve always signed a syllabus since I can remember, and you never had to question it except maybe if it was health class.”

Parent would’ve had to go out of their way to read the newsletter and look up each reading material to know the unit was LGBTQ-themed. While Mattingly emailed parents with a link to the newsletter ahead of time, that email did not explicitly mention anything LGBTQ-related unless you clicked on the newsletter.

The Personal Identity unit emphasized the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation, stereotypes, and building empathy, with videos explaining gender roles and “how to be a LGBTQ+ ally.”

However, the newsletter didn’t include the “ally” video or a copy of the alternate assignment. 

One assignment asked students to choose one of three stories that align with their own perspective or serve as a “mirror” into another person’s experience. The first represented a “transgender experience,” followed by female and male perspectives, with questions following asking which story reflected what. 

When asked why this lesson came up in English rather than health, Arlt cited RCW 28A.345.130. The law requires the Washington State School Directors’ Association to adopt a model policy on how districts select instructional materials, including “inclusive, age-appropriate” materials that teach about the histories and perspectives of a few protected classes, with a direct mention of “LGBTQ people” as well.

WSSDA adopted Policy 2020, which the Cheney School Board copied along with other school districts, requiring board approval for “core instructional materials” but not anything considered “supplemental.”

“Supplemental Instructional Materials are used in conjunction with the core instructional materials of a course that are not expressly required by the school or district and are instead selected at a teacher’s discretion,” according to WSSDA Policy 2020, revised last April in accordance with RCW 28A.345.130.

CSD’s version of Policy 2020 is essentially the same, but it doesn’t explain whether teachers are allowed to select supplemental materials. Instead, Procedure 2020 directs the Cheney Curriculum Committee to establish procedures for approving supplemental materials. The superintendent or a designee is also responsible for ensuring that materials are reviewed in advance to ensure everything is appropriate. 

When asked whether the materials were treated as supplemental under Policy 2020 and who approved them, Arlt only confirmed that they were considered supplemental. The Center Square quickly sent a follow-up asking again who approved the materials, but did not receive a response before publishing.

“They don’t outright say ‘be an activist,’” King said, “yet, in the cartoon, they’re showing basically that.” 

King said she didn’t reach out to the school right away because she didn’t want her student to feel like the “problem child.” Their family encountered a similar situation back in middle school, where another English teacher showed students a “drag queen” video, prompting King to confront the school about it.

“I saw it a little bit in middle school,” King told The Center Square. “I don’t want her to get backlash.” 

Her granddaughter said several other students were uncomfortable with the video, but King said the teacher brushed off her concerns and instead asked for the names of the other children. King wouldn’t tell the teacher who they were so that she and the middle school wouldn’t single out the children.

King said that’s why she didn’t confront Mattingly or the high school in September. Another parent that King knows also went through the same experience with Mattingly’s class. The Center Square reached out to the parent for an interview, but they declined, outside of providing copies of the class materials.

Bo Begalman, chair of the Spokane County Chapter of Moms for Liberty, told The Center Square that she also spoke with that parent. While Begalman doesn’t have any of her own children attending CSD, she expressed concerns similar to King’s about the district potentially infringing on parental rights.

Begalman said local school boards are the last safeguard for parental rights and have a significant impact on what’s included in the curriculum. She and King both want the Cheney School Board to amend Policy 2020 to require its direct approval for lessons and materials like Mattingly provided to students.

“If the parents [are] not willing to step up or not willing to speak out, you know, nothing’s going to change,” Begalman told The Center Square. “We’re the ones that’re in control … we’re the boss, not their servant” 

King also wants the board to adjust how CSD provides advance notice, using multiple channels to ensure parents immediately know what the lesson is about without having to do their own research.

According to district records, the Cheney School Board approved a book called “Gender Identity” back in 2019, but the document doesn’t explain whether it was intended for the high school. That book is the only item on the list of core board-approved materials that is somewhat related to Mattingly’s lesson. 

CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST PRINCETON GENDER POLICIES

The board approved another gender-inclusive policy, 5-1, last January, in alignment with the state.

“At the minimum, we should be aware, because this has nothing to do with their actual education,” King told The Center Square. “That’s not right. They’re not supposed to be parenting my child.”