While some Texas school districts protect students from inappropriate content, Fort Worth’s school district is exposing students to radical gender ideology.
Last week, grassroots activist Carlos Turcios received screenshots of a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) administered to high school students. The survey asked students for personal details about their level of sexual activity, in addition to questioning their gender identity.
Every two years, school districts across the country give the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to high school students in return for federal funding. Although the students’ answers are anonymous, school districts send the results to the CDC.
The YRBS asks students about their involvement in “six categories of health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults.” Those categories include violence, sexual intercourse, alcohol and drugs, tobacco, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and inadequate physical activity.
The CDC uses this survey to monitor behavior changes in American teenagers and measure the effectiveness of risk reduction strategies in high schools.
Although districts can use the YRBS independently of the CDC’s program, FWISD has participated in the official survey since 2015.
The screenshots sent to Turcios reveal that the 2023 YRBS survey also asks high school students, who typically range from 14 to 18 years old, for information about their gender identity.
One section states, “Some people describe themselves as transgender when their sex at birth does not match the way they think or feel about their gender.” The survey then asks students, “Are you transgender?” Students must choose one of four possible multiple choice answers, including yes, no, unsure, or “I do not know what this question is asking.”
Another question asks students about their sexual orientation and includes multiple choice options for heterosexual, gay or lesbian, and bisexual. Students can also say they use other words to describe their sexual orientation, they are questioning their orientation, or they do not understand the question.
The CDC survey also questions students about their sexual history, asking how old they were when they first had sexual intercourse, how many people they have had sexual intercourse with, and if they used a method to prevent pregnancy during sexual intercourse with an “opposite-sex partner.”
This is not the first time citizens have accused FWISD of pushing radical gender and racial ideologies on students.
Earlier this year, the district hired former Midland ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey, who has voiced support for equity, a term used to promote critical race theory. Ramsey also downplayed parents’ concerns at a breakfast meeting last month, where she said, “The truth is that black, brown, and poor kids in this country do not get the education they deserve because we’re in a system that wasn’t built for us.”
In response to FWISD’s participation in the YRBS survey, Turcios condemned the district and called for state lawmakers to act.
“Gender fluidity surveys are inappropriate and [are] an action against parents’ rights,” said Turcios. “Austin needs to work on passing bills that [punish] these districts by withholding state funding.”