If ever there were a story that captured, in one disturbing snapshot, the broken state of modern public education, it’s this one.
In Tumwater, Washington, a non-binary teacher named Mx. TJ Thornton reportedly raised “safety concerns” about teaching a 10-year-old boy — not because the child had done anything wrong, but because his father, a local school board member, voted to keep girls’ sports biologically female.
You read that right: a public school teacher allegedly tried to sideline a student over the political views of his parent — views that are, by the way, supported by a strong majority of Americans across nearly every demographic. Yet somehow, in today’s upside-down educational climate, defending fairness in girls’ sports is seen as a threat — not to policy, but to personal safety.
I almost can’t believe I’m typing this. A 5th grade gender-nonbinary teacher in Tumwater, WA, did not want to teach the 10-year-old son of a conservative school board member, citing safety concerns. Mx. TJ Thornton requested the school craft a policy to “help mitigate the… pic.twitter.com/1ut6uS8AYX
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) December 8, 2025
According to investigative documents cited by Alesha Perkins, the teacher went to the administration to express discomfort about teaching the child, citing the family’s “views” as a concern. The resulting investigation found the accusations against Thornton unsubstantiated, but the facts remain chilling: a teacher in a taxpayer-funded school allegedly attempted to reject a 10-year-old from her classroom because his father wasn’t politically aligned with the current orthodoxy on gender ideology.
This wasn’t a disciplinary issue. The boy didn’t act out. There was no disruption. This was ideological profiling — plain and simple.
This is why public education is hemorrhaging trust. Because this is what happens when schools drift from being places of learning into battlegrounds of ideological enforcement. The job of an educator is to teach reading, writing, math, and science — not to screen children for “problematic” family backgrounds.
When teachers like Thornton allegedly decide that the mere presence of a child from a conservative family creates an “unsafe” environment, they reveal exactly why millions of parents are pulling their children from these institutions. It’s not just about curriculum anymore. It’s about whether public schools can even be trusted to treat students fairly.
“All Are Welcome Here,” the yard signs say. Unless, apparently, your dad believes girls’ sports should be for girls.
What happened to the boy is a stark warning for every parent: this system is not neutral. It is not inclusive. And it will turn on your child the moment your values conflict with the ruling dogma.
Thankfully, the parents removed their son from the school. That decision may have spared him years of subtle — or not-so-subtle — political punishment. But how many other families remain unaware of how quietly and systemically this mindset has spread through public education?
