Local elections matter. The results often fly under the radar, but they have lasting effects. Here’s just one example: with Tom Heidemann’s defeat in the Anoka-Hennepin school board race, the state’s largest school district could soon chart a very different course.
There wasn’t much media coverage about Tom Heidemann’s reelection efforts, or the radical activist who challenged him for the seat he’s held for twenty years. But what differentiated Tom from his opponent came down to two simple questions:
Should all students have access to safe, single-sex restrooms and changing rooms at school?
Who should be in charge of sex education: parents, or Planned Parenthood?
Under Heidemann’s leadership, Anoka-Hennepin Schools instituted a policy that ensured that restrooms and changing rooms for male and female students were maintained, while students who identify as “transgender” were able to use alternative facilities if they were uncomfortable using those designated for their sex. This was a way to deal with a real issue some students have without compromising the privacy of other students - but that wasn’t enough for radical activists.
A lawsuit against the school district, which Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison signed onto, is now pending - just for acknowledging biological realities and ensuring that single-sex restrooms stay that way.
Heidemann defended that policy, and he also wanted to ensure that Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE), which is pushed by Planned Parenthood, was NOT in use at Anoka-Hennepin schools.
His opponent, who bested him in Tuesday’s elections, supports “comprehensive” sex-ed.
Although it may be tempting for Anoka-Hennepin’s school board to make changes, we urge board members to maintain Anoka-Hennepin’s current policies, which are truly designed to protect all students.
Minnesota Family Council will continue to fight for the rights of students and parents, wherever they are threatened. Our True North Legal initiative will become increasingly crucial, as we fight these battles in the courts as well as the legislature.
We will not be intimidated by radical activists who want to teach “sex-positive” curriculum to very young kids, and who seek to ensure that male students can use girls’ restrooms if they get a note from the principal’s office. We remain committed to the simple facts: boys are boys, girls are girls, and no one is born in the wrong body.
As we look forward to next year’s much larger election, we will not be intimidated (Phil. 1:28). We don’t know God’s plan for the 2020 election in Minnesota or across this country, but we know and trust the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - as the hymn says, His kingdom is forever.
