With little more than a week before the House District 11 special election primary, a contract made by the Cullman County Schools Board of Education during Republican candidate Heath Allbright's tenure is raising some questions.
Allbright served on the Board in July 2023 when it approved a contract with 7 Mindsets, pending a $40,000 grant.
7 Mindsets provides social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum and assessments focused on student mental health. Allbright voiced no objection when the Board approved the Base Education program, which is described as an "interactive, online mental health solution explicitly designed for students and educators to engage them on the social-emotional health issues that middle and high school students commonly face."
While the Base platform does not appear to include LGBTQ+-specific curriculum, 7 Mindsets has a history of promoting gay pride and related ideology.
Last June, the company featured pro-LGBTQ+ "Pride Month" cards to "spark engaging conversations" in the classroom.
The cards shared on social media promoted the "Rainbow flag as a symbol of LGTBQ+ pride;" the Trevor Project; Harvey Milk; and the "first openly gay U.S. Senator," Tammy Baldwin.
"We continue to celebrate #PrideMonth, embracing the uniqueness of each person and honoring the richness of diversity and inclusivity in our world. Check out our 7 Mindsets Pride Month-themed #WeAreConnected cards to spark engaging conversations in your classroom."
In June 2023, 7 Mindsets celebrated Pride Month and "the magic of diversity" on Facebook: "Just like a rainbow has many beautiful colors, our world is filled with wonderful people who are different in their own unique ways. Being kind to one another makes the world a brighter and happier place for everyone. So let's spread love, embrace our differences, and celebrate the magic of diversity! :rainbow::sparkling_heart: #WeAreConnected #happypride.”
The state legislature has been working to rid schools of divisive concepts like LGBTQ issues, sexual orientations and gender ideology. Social emotional learning was recently added to the list for being potentially harmful to students.
1819 News asked Allbright about his decision to approve the contract with 7 Mindsets and whether he would support legislative efforts to ban SEL in Alabama classrooms, such as State Rep. Mack Butler's (R-Rainbow City) House Bill 582.
"The BASE Education platform was about saving our kids from mental health disasters — depression, thoughts of suicide, and bullying — it has nothing to do with woke SEL or LGBTQ nonsense," Allbright said in a statement. "My focus is making sure students in Cullman County Schools have resources available to them when they are dealing with depression, suicidal thoughts, or if they are being bullied."
He added, "On House Bill 582, I'd fight tooth and nail to keep classrooms about learning, not political agendas. I look forward to keeping politics out of the classroom, while also working to end the suicide epidemic among our young people."
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