Dupage Policy Journal

The Naperville 203 School District is critiquing the DuPage Policy Journal for posting an article revealing concerns an elementary school parent had that a third-grade teacher was influencing them via lessons on sexuality.

The teacher, Nick Cosme, is known to wear fingernail polish to class and is accused of prompting children to consider altering their pronouns.

The school district noted the article’s “inaccuracies” but failed to detail them.

See the email from Superintendent Dan Bridges to the Naperville 203 community below:

“To The Naperville 203 Community,

An article recently posted by a local online publication, regarding a Naperville 203 third-grade classroom, is filled with significant inaccuracies and should not be considered credible. The author of this article was not interested in understanding the facts, but rather creating a narrative based on bias and assumption.

Naperville 203 continues to promote inclusiveness and student belonging in an effort to cultivate a culture of inclusion that values the dignity and uniqueness of each individual. In this classroom, and all of our classrooms, teachers strive to create a sense of community and belonging for each one of our students, especially at the beginning of the school year. We do this in an age-appropriate manner that develops students’ social-emotional and academic growth. We encourage families to be informed about our social-emotional learning curriculum and connect with their student’s teacher and principal with any questions.

While it’s unfortunate that this message is coming in response to an inaccurate article, I am glad that it presented an opportunity for me to remind you that we will continue to strive to create a sense of community and belonging for each and every one of our students.”

The issue has garnered attention from reformist politicians who have declared overreach by the school district in allowing the integration of gender identity into the coursework as delivered by educators.

Jeff Coleman, a candidate for 29th House District, used a reference to the classic film "The Godfather" when referencing his stance on the issue.

“Listen, I don't care about what you do over there or over there, just as long as your interests don't conflict with mine, and now you just conflicted with mine,” Coleman told DuPage Policy Journal.

The problem surfaces at Naperville 203 as a result of discussions on SB 818, the recently approved comprehensive sex education law in Illinois, which has led to demands that kids comprehend gender identity as early as second grade.

The defensiveness of Naperville 203 against Cosme's classroom came when the state started requiring that subjects like gender identity be taught to young children. Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved SB 818 as law last year.

The law mandates that sexual education classes be given to kids as young as 8 years old.

The regulation was promoted as a mechanism to harmonize national and state standards for sexual education. 

Bridges earlier this year was behind an effort to maintain mandatory masking in the district despite a downstate judge’s ruling the practice unconstitutional.

He was the focus of disparaging comments from parents at a raucous school board meeting in February. Given his endorsement of Critical Race Theory, Bridges has also come under fire.