In Minnesota, U.S., a student reported that she was given an "equity survey" in class and was instructed not to tell or share this information with her parents.
Haylee Yasgar, a fourth-grade student in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District, revealed the existence of the survey to community members at a school board meeting on 19 July.
People gathered to discuss critical race theory being pushed in school curriculums as well as the role of Equity Alliance Minnesota, a left-wing organization that was hired to conduct an US$ 80,000 "racial inequalities" audit within the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.
"My teacher said that I could not skip any questions, even when I didn’t understand them. One question asked us what gender we identify with. I was very confused, along with a lot of other classmates," Yasgar said during the meeting, which was captured on video.
"A boy in my class asked my teacher if his mom could explain the question to him because even after the teacher explained it, he still didn't understand," she continued. "My teacher told him that he was not allowed to ask his mom and that we could not repeat any of the questions to our parents."
"Being asked to hide this from my mom made me very uncomfortable, like I was doing something wrong," she concluded.
Many parents remain concerned that the school district is placing a political agenda first and their child's education second. Parents formed a Facebook group called Concerned Parents and Community of ISD 748, which presently has more than 1,000 members.
"CRT advocates pretend the debate is about teaching racism and slavery. It’s designed to do the opposite. I think it’s a sign of their position’s weakness that they keep returning to this line," said Chris Yasgar, who is leading a group of parents who oppose the audit.