NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says public schools shouldn’t teach ‘transgenderism.’ What do the state’s school standards say?

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(WGHP) — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is under scrutiny after a video showed him saying that public schools are teaching children to doubt their gender.

Right Wing Watch tweeted out a clip of Robinson speaking at Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove in June.

“There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth. And yes I called it filth. And if you don’t like that I called it filth, come see me and I’ll explain it to you,” Robinson said in the video.

He said the topics of “transgenderism and homosexuality” have no place in public schools and claimed children are being indoctrinated at public schools.

“We have reached a point in public schools now, where, first off, we’re telling our children ‘don’t be so sure you’re a little girl or a little boy,'” he continued.

In a statement to WNCN, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said:

“North Carolina is a welcoming state where we value public education and the diversity of our people. It’s abhorrent to hear anyone, and especially an elected official, use hateful rhetoric that hurts people and our state’s reputation.”

FOX8 reached out to Guilford County and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school districts for a response to Lt. Gov. Robinson’s statement about public schools. GCS and WSFCS are the third and fourth-largest school districts in the state.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools said in a statement, “WS/FCS teaches the state standards as outlined by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.”

As of 2 p.m. Friday, FOX8 has not received a response from Guilford County Schools.

The Department of Public Instruction’s standards is freely available online for anyone to review.

The social studies standards, which Lt. Gov. Robinson voted against, were recently updated. These standards are outlines from which each school district can develop its curriculum. It includes a variety of subjects, including the LGBTQ+ rights movements, racism and mental health reform among many other topics.

School districts can decide which of these standards are added to school curriculums, and the North Carolina Board of Education provides direction, topics and examples on how teachers can implement these standards in the classroom.