Stonington — Stonington Public Schools is attempting to navigate a locally and nationally divisive issue, balancing respect for both parental rights and the LGBTQIA+ community, in its plans to commemorate — and not commemorate — Pride Month.

“You don’t want to offend anyone when they want to explain things developmentally at the appropriate age,” said Superintendent Mary Anne Butler on Friday.

The district has decided that no Pride Month activities or discussions will take place in the district’s two elementary schools.

“Maybe we’re being conservative, but I do think, at the elementary level, it’s respectful of the parents,” she said, adding that the district’s curriculum, which follows Connecticut Department of Education standards, incorporates foundational concepts including gender and identity, which are built upon at each grade level.

As in previous years, Alliance for Acceptance groups at the middle and high schools will plan student-driven events and activities during the week of June 11-16.

Butler said that last year, the elementary schools did not do anything formal for Pride Month but did cover themes of self-acceptance and acceptance of others throughout the year. This year, the district’s anti-bias and anti-racism team researched age-appropriate books and activities that will be listed in the district’s monthly newsletter for parents to use at home.

“We’re not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but what we can do is get stronger and network every year,” she said, adding, “It’s messy and it’s not perfect, but we’re very committed to that.”

In fact, the district’s ongoing work on diversity, equity and inclusion, including LGBTQIA+ issues like Pride Month celebrations, has drawn the attention of the Norwich Public Schools. Butler said the district reached out and asked Stonington to share its best practices regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.

“It’s our job every day to make sure kids are safe and welcomed in our schools —whoever they are, wherever they come from, that’s our charge,” she said.

“It’s part of our curriculum. It’s part of how we treat people. It’s what we believe,” she said, adding, “It’s who we are.”

Nonetheless, finding the balance between parental rights and diversity, equity and inclusion has become increasingly difficult due to rising national divisiveness around LGBTQIA+ issues.

Last year, Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Act in Florida, commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms.

Since its passage, more than a dozen other states have introduced similar legislation.

Stonington faced controversy in October when a parent asserted Pride flags in classrooms were a violation of district policies regarding political materials in classrooms, and Butler requested that flags be removed pending a review of the policy.

Opponents of the flag argued that LGBTQIA+ issues should be left to families and the display could make some students uncomfortable.

Supporters argued that the flag demonstrated support for all students and were symbols of inclusion and acceptance.

Butler concluded the flags were not a political display, and the Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution allowing the flags to be displayed in classrooms and requiring a review of policies to ensure they prohibit LGBTQIA+ discrimination.

Despite the inclusive decision, the current climate makes addressing LGBTQIA+ issues more difficult.

“I think it’s very difficult for the classroom teachers to be in a situation where they are being watched and questioned — from every lesson a health teacher might be teaching to the size of a flag in a classroom. It’s a difficult position for them to be in when they’re trying to take care of their students, deliver their curriculum, and their work gets more and more challenging every single day,” Butler said.

At an April Teaching and Learning Subcommittee meeting, Assistant Superintendent Tim Smith said the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee weighed multiple options for Pride Month but determined that providing age-appropriate instruction across the broad age span at the elementary schools would be too complex.

He pointed to the origins of Pride Month as an example of the complexity.

“It came from police brutality — the Stonewall riots, that’s where it was developed. That’s where the concept and everything came from,” he said.

The Stonewall riots were a series of protests and demonstrations in June 1969 by members of the LGBTQIA+ community against police raids at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York City. The riots resulted in police-initiated violence, with officers attacking protesters with tear gas and batons.

Subcommittee members Sara Baker (D) and Heidi Simmons (R) expressed concerns that the topic would not be addressed in the schools and wondered about using more general concepts like acceptance to celebrate Pride Month in an age-appropriate way.

“Quite frankly, I don’t think you can separate the explanation of what Pride Month is in that way that makes it more general. It’s not about race. It’s not about anything other than the LGBT community,” Smith responded.

Butler said the Alliance for Acceptance group at the middle school is still making plans, but the group at the high school has planned various events including tie-dye shirt day and a fundraiser for the Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project is a national nonprofit organization providing education, resources and crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth under the age of 25 in the United States.