As a parent of two middle school students, I am strongly opposed to the Model Policies Concerning Instructional Materials with Sexually Explicit Content, which includes homosexuality in its definition of sexual content. Our students need to learn that there are all different kinds of people and families. This grows respect and empathy. And children who come from a home with same-sex parents or are themselves LGBTQ+, need to see themselves in stories. By flagging LGBTQ+ instructional materials, VDOE is sending the message that something is wrong with those children and their families. That is certainly not a message I want handed out to vulnerable populations. And it is not a message I want my own kids hearing, as I try to raise them as allies.