Wake school board member defends LGBTQ-themed flash cards used in preschool class

A Wake County Board of Education member defended LGBTQ-themed cards used in a Fuquay-Varina preschool class last month.

Board member Jim Martin said during Tuesday's meeting he looked at the flashcards and there was "nothing inappropriate" in them.

"Were they part of the curriculum? No. Were they valuable to some families? Probably," Martin said.

The teacher, whose name was not released by the school system, resigned after being accused of using the LGBTQ-themed flash cards depicting a pregnant person.

In a statement last month, a spokeswoman for the school said the materials had been removed from the school. A May 27 news release from North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said the teacher used the cards in a preschool class at Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina.

"From everything I've heard, and I don't know the personal details, but this was a highly-regarded teacher who got bullied and harassed over flash cards," said Martin.

The teacher’s resignation comes as North Carolina Senate lawmakers continue to hold hearings on the "Parents Bill of Rights," a GOP-backed bill that some are calling the state's version of a Florida law that critics refer to as "Don't Say Gay" legislation.

North Carolina House Bill 755 would ban any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity from the curriculum in kindergarten through third grade.

Under the bill, schools would have to notify parents if a student asks to use a different name or different pronouns to describe themselves. They would also have to let parents know if a student is seeing an in-school counselor, or if there's any change in a student's mental, physical or emotional wellbeing.

"We didn't need that blown up — to be a nationalized, politicized thing," said Martin. "We need to respect diversity. We need to respect our families, and if there is an issue, let's take care of it. not blow it up to a national, political issue."