(Headline USA) Illinois parents called the cops on a middle school teacher who gave her students pornographic LGBT material, according to reports.
Sarah Bonner, 42, teaches 8th grade at Heyworth Junior High School. She admitted during an interview with TODAY.com this week that she offered her students a book called This Book is Gay, which includes graphic descriptions of sexual behavior and terms. The book is banned in many public schools across the country due to its inappropriate content.
“I wanted to give them a smattering of fiction and nonfiction to choose from on a day that we called ‘Reading Monday,’” she claimed. “We just read and celebrate books.”
Parents reportedly saw pictures of the book that their children took during class and filed a police report against Bonner for child endangerment.
The day after the police report was filed, Heyworth Junior High officials placed Bonner on administrative leave. The letter said the school district “recently became aware of certain allegations” against Bonner that it would be investigating. Until the investigation was complete, Bonner was told “not to perform any duties for the school district.”
Bonner decided to resign the next day.
“The notion that I was putting children in danger because of books — I didn’t feel safe,” she complained. “I knew I couldn’t go back.”
Bonner claimed that by exposing children to graphic LGBT content, she hoped to provide them with a “safe place.”
“If I am a safe place and I’m leaving, what does that do for our students?” Bonner asked. “‘What about the kids?’ has always been a question rooted in everything I do.”
She went on to blame the “heightened culture war that’s continuing to build nationwide” for her ousting.
“In regards to the book that was challenged in my classroom, it was a message to the LGBTQ+ community in my room and in my district that they’re ‘less than,’” she said.
