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Seattle Schoolboard candidate states parents opting out of children learning gender identity and LGBTQ issues is "part of banning and misinformation"

Seattle, Washington
46th District Democrats
Democrats seek endorsement for school board position

[50:05] Debbie Carlsen
Along with my fellow candidates, I do not support banning books. I do think we need to go deeper in our understanding about how this information does impact schools like I had mentioned before. There are parents opting out for their children to learn about gender identity and LGBTQ issues. That is part of banning and misinformation, and it does happen in Seattle, and we need a strong leader that understands this and can fight effectively against it and that includes in Olympia as well.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GJg6jkUx1ww

Representation Matters
I am running because representation matters. We represent each other from our lived experience and are connected to those communities we share common identities with. I am a non-binary working class white queer person (she/they) who was born in Seattle, brought up in Auburn and Kent and moved back to Seattle over 25 years ago. I have lived in North Seattle since 2013. My family is neurodivergent, mixed race and LGBTQ+. My partner is mixed blood Alaskan Native, and my kiddo is South Asian. We are a foster to adopt family. My child entered Seattle Public Schools in preschool with an IEP and she is about to graduate from kindergarten. My identity and my family's diversity shape where I come from, and how I show up as a leader. 
We live in a climate where multiple states like Florida and Texas are passing laws against trans and LGBTQ+ kids as well as adults. Schools have become the battle ground for this hate. As an out LGBTQ+ person I want to champion a LGBTQ+ and racial equity lens on the school board. I want children and youth to know that they deserve to be safe and treated fairly. Representation matters in policy development and budget decisions, and it is imperative we have LGBTQ+ representation at the highest level of decision making in our school district. 

https://debbie4seattleschools.org/
https://wasa-oly.org/wasa/WASA/5_0_Professional_Development/Events/WASA_Events/Summer/2023/WASA-AWSP_Summer_Conference_2023#gsc.tab=0