A prestigious private school in Chicago, Francis W. Parker, defended Dean of Students Joe Bruno on Thursday following the release of a video in which he said the school’s LGBTQ sex education programming includes passing out sex toys and instructing students on how to use them. .
“During Pride, we do a Pride Week every year, and I had our LGBTQ+ health center come over. They passed butt plugs and dildos to my students. Speaking of queer sex. Using lube versus using saliva”, Bruno says in a clip.
Bruno, who has been in his current role for four years, added that students asked him, “’How does this butt plug work? How do we do it? How does this work? . . . That’s a really cool part of my job.”
Bruno was reportedly unaware that his statements were being recorded at the time by a member of Project Veritas, an American organization known for making similar undercover videos. the suit has been successfully sued by an organization about its tactics.
However, the release of the undercover video has apparently not shaken the Francis W. Parker School’s faith in Bruno. The school defended him in a statement released Thursday.
“He was filmed without his knowledge or permission while describing an example of our comprehensive, LGBTQ+ affirmative and inclusive approach to sex education. Veritas deceptively edited the video with malicious intent,” the statement reads, as reported by WGN-TV.
According to the outlet, the statement also read, “Parker administrators and the Parker Board of Trustees support Parker’s programming, the strength and inclusiveness of our curriculum, and the dedicated faculty and staff and talented people who teach it.”
The revelations have prompted the school to offer “mental health screenings” for students, Chicago’s NPR satellite, WBEZreported.
During the surreptitious video recording released by Project Veritas, the off-camera interviewer tells Bruno: “You have so much freedom. So much leeway”, to which Bruno replies: “So much freedom. So much money to do things.”
In accordance with Parker’s tuition and fees. website section, the cost of enrollment at the institution ranges from just over $37,000 a year for kindergarten to over $42,000 for grade twelve.
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