Montgomery County elementary students shown a “coming out” slideshow

On December 8, 2025, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students watched an LGBTQ presentation during class. Fox News reported:

“A Maryland middle school presented a slideshow to 6th graders celebrating ‘Transgender Awareness Week’ where the children were given a lesson that included ‘advice for coming out’ and ‘8 tips for being nonbinary’...Multiple slides in the presentation provide information on ‘what it means’ to be transgender and students are then quizzed about what they learned."

The following screenshot is sourced from the Fox News article:

The following video was also shown to the 6th grade students:

According to Fox a MCPS spokesperson defended the presentation in a written statement to the outlet. The spokesperson said, in part:

“Westland Middle School has used advisory lessons on a range of topics to help students understand differences, treat each other with kindness, and follow school expectations. These materials were communicated in advance, including clear information about opt-out procedures, which were followed. The lessons were about awareness, respect, and how to support peers in a school community.”

Earlier this year, a group of parents took legal action against MCPS because the school district did not allow them to keep their elementary-aged children from participating in LGBTQ lessons. In June 2025, the Supreme Court agreed with parents, and MCPS released a statement saying they were “not surprised” and felt “disappointed” by the decision.

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