According to Gateway Pundit, Shea Encinas, a student in the Encinitas Union School District, was placed in a mandatory “buddy” mentoring program in fifth grade at La Costa Heights Elementary, where teachers required him to instruct a kindergarten child using the picture book *My Shadow Is Pink*. The book, which tells the story of a boy whose “inner-most you” is pink and who prefers dresses and girls’ toys, promotes the notion that children can select their gender “based on feelings instead of how God made us,” a message that directly conflicted with Shea’s biblical convictions.
Shea, now 12, recounted his ordeal during an emotional testimony at the Museum of the Bible on Tuesday, where he appeared alongside President Donald Trump and described the pressure he faced for objecting to the school-assigned material. “I’ve been a Christian my whole life, and Jesus means everything to me,” he said, explaining that he immediately recognized the lesson as morally wrong but feared punishment if he spoke out.
“When I was in fifth grade, my school forced me to teach my kindergarten buddy about changing his gender using a book called My Shadow Is Pink,” Shea told the audience, emphasizing that “The book said you can choose your gender based on feelings instead of how God made us.” After his parents challenged the curriculum, he said, “the school treated us badly, and kids started bullying me and my brother because of our faith. The school did nothing to stop it.”
“It hurt a lot, but I kept trusting God,” Shea continued, underscoring the resilience that many parents believe schools should be reinforcing, not undermining. “I believe kids like me should be able to live out our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe. I hope no other family has to go through what mine did,” he said, offering a stark warning about the cost of resisting radical gender policies in today’s public education system.
