Parents slam charter school for outing their nonbinary six-year-old twins after discovering secret online hate campaign
- Mortellus said they were surprised to find an online hate campaign
- They had toured a charter school and thought it went well
North Carolina parents have slammed a charter school for outing their nonbinary six-year-old twins after discovering an online hate campaign.
Mortellus, 42, who did not want to reveal their full identity, said they did not think there was any issue when they first toured the Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Forest City, North Carolina, with their spouse Joe.
During the visit, Mortellus - who is transgender and nonbinary - inquired if there were any gender-neutral bathrooms. The pair told staff their children are nonbinary, and one is gender-fluid.
The couple said they were assured that although the school is still in the process of adding an ADA-compliant family bathroom, there are already single-stalled restrooms in each classroom.
But about a month later, Mortellus found out their children's gender identity was leaked to parents - many of whom started speaking out against the school enrolling their children.
- Mortellus claims they and their spouse, Joe, toured a school for their children and asked about gender-neutral bathrooms - only for other parents to find out
'When I saw it all... I sat there quietly for a moment, feeling like my stomach bottomed out,' they told Buzzfeed.
'I felt nauseous. I felt sad. I battled with myself over what the right reaction was... but settled on anger.
'They'd all put my children in danger, and the school had done nothing to make us aware.'
Mortellus, an author who describes themselves on Instagram as a 'witch, necromancer, mortician and medium,' said they thought the school was accommodating when they first toured the charter school.
They also asked about the school uniforms and how children are sorted.
'I noted that my children, regardless of assigned gender, enjoyed wearing skirts and dresses frequently - and I was informed that the uniform policy was non-gendered and that it would not be an issue,' Mortellus wrote.
'I asked if students are sorted by gender - boys line up here, girls there - stating that one of my twins had been rather fluid with pronouns, flitting back and forth as it pleased them and only recently settling into a preference.'
Again, Mortellus said, they were informed the uniforms were not gender specific - with a staff member reportedly telling them they were 'feeling very protective of them already.'
- Mortellus said they also asked about school uniforms and how children are sorted at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy
But when Mortellus joined a Facebook group to find hand-me-down uniforms, they said they found groups in which parents complained about a nonbinary student joining the school and what they saw as a push for gender-neutral bathrooms.
Some were also circulating an online petition calling for the school to walk back its stance on allowing gender-neutral bathrooms and having teachers and students 'use preferred pronouns.' It gained 1,300 signatures before it was taken down, according to WSPA.
One of the groups was even created by someone who identified themselves as a staff member at the school, Mortellus claimed.
The issue eventually became so heated that school officials held a meeting in May for parents to express their concerns.
Mortellus said her children are nonbinary, and one is gender-fluid
One speaker at that hearing accused the family of living 'in a world of imagination'.
'They don't understand the concept of sëx until they are age eight or nine,' the parent claimed, WSPA reports.
Another argued, 'If we can't push religion... they shouldn't be able to push an agenda,' and a third even said he would pull his children out of the school 'if this goes through.'
Only one speaker at the hearing was in favor of including gender-neutral bathrooms, and allowing the twins to join the student body.
'According to the TJCA handbook... every student has the right to an environment that encourages learning and is free of destruction,' the community member said.
- Mortellus is an author who describes themselves online as a 'witch, necromancer, mortician and medium'
Mortellus is now trying to hit back at those claims.
'There has been an assumption that I walked in the doors of the school like a cartoon villain shouting "HERE ARE MY DEMANDS' - but that's not true at all,' the author told Buzzfeed.
'I toured the school, chatting casually with staff and hoping to ensure that my children would get a good education and be afforded nothing more than what school policies already allowed and the same amount of support and protection that other children at the school enjoy.'
They pointed out that no rules or policies have changed at the school, and kindergarteners 'already have gender-neutral bathrooms and always have.'
- Mortellus said one of their children wants to be an astronaut, while the other is a math whiz
Mortellus went on to respond to some of the specific claims made about their family, including that the children are 'too young' to understand gender.
'In terms of simple child development, we know that children have a pretty strong idea of gender identity as early as three,' they claimed.
'Society doesn't really make a fuss about heteronormative barriers being "understood" by children because that fits within the hegemony - but when it is an outsider group like my Pagan family with a different idea of morality, ethics, the world generally, suddenly that understanding is villainized,' they said.
Mortellus also argued that those who are against letting their children into the school are trying to protect 'Christian ideas about gender and sexuality, and we do not share those beliefs... we are not Christian.
'Our faith protects the right to express oneself as we see fit - not as imposed upon us by someone else's god.'
- School officials said they have followed 'all applicable state and federal laws.' Pictured: Lisa Strepp, principal at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy
'This is as simple as letting children just... be,' Mortellus said, noting that one of her children wants to grow up to be an astronaut, while the other is a math whiz 'literally doing algebra at age five.'
'The most joyful thing in the world to me is looking at either of those kids and just knowing that they're living their best life and getting to explore who they are,' they said.
'So few people get that opportunity and I'm so happy that they get to have it.'
In a statement to WSPA, school officials noted that it 'follows all applicable state and federal laws.'
A spokesperson noted that facilities already have single-stall bathrooms for students who choose to use them, while others have multi-stall gender bathrooms.
It was also advised that the school lets parents decide whether they want their child to be included in certain curriculum, and said, 'Instruction on gender identity, sexµal activity or sexuality shall not be included in the curriculum provided in kindergarten through fourth grade, regardless of whether the information is provided by school personnel or third-parties.'
DailyMail.com has reached out to Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy for additional comment.
