A group of parents in the Elk Grove Unified School District, just south of Sacramento, will keep students home from district schools Friday in protest of campus clubs for LGBTQ students.

“We are urging parents to consider pulling their children from school on Friday, March 29, 2024, as a means of expressing support for parental rights and to demonstrate the importance of transparency and openness in school activities,” parents wrote in an Instagram post for the group “Informed Parents of EGUSD.”

Parents learned in January that a teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary School was hosting a “UBU” club for all elementary school students, emphasizing that it was a safe place for “boys who crush on boys,” or “girls who crush on girls,” but that all were welcome. Upon learning about the clubs, about 50 EGUSD parents complained at a school board meeting this month, lamenting that they weren’t informed, and calling that a violation of their parental rights.

Christian conservative groups such as the California Family Council got involved, and the story made its way to conservative host Jesse Waters’ Fox News program. The National Center for Law & Policy, a Christian conservative nonprofit law firm based in Escondido, sent the school district a cease and desist letter last week, threatening legal action if the schools do not discontinue the clubs.

“EGUSD’s recent rollout of these clubs focusing on human sexuality, including, but not limited to, affirming sexual orientation and gender identity, has been truly egregious,” wrote Dean Broyles, Chief Counsel and President of the NCLP, in the March 21 letter.

“The entire process has demonstrated a complete lack of integrity, transparency, accountability and even the most basic safeguards to protect minor children and their families.”

What are ‘Rainbow Clubs’?

Five other schools in the district also have Rainbow Clubs, which are elementary school equivalents of Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs, where students play board games at lunch and spread an anti-bullying message. Recent studies show that schools with these clubs show fewer instances of bullying and harassment not just of LGBTQ students, but the student body overall.

Posters for the club at Markofer Elementary in Elk Grove show a rainbow with the school mascot. The club is “a safe, healthy, anti-bully space for all children” in 5th and 6th grades. The poster promises “fun, games, and learning with friends.”

Concerned parents, and the NCLP, say the school was actively hiding the clubs from parents, and “enticing” students to join.

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