Pennsylvania School District Policy Advises Teachers to Avoid Informing Parents of Children's Gender Identity Changes

The Upper Moreland School District in Pennsylvania proposed a new policy that advises teachers and personnel to avoid informing moms and dads their children's gender identity or pronoun choices, and to focus particularly on school-related, not gender, concerns when consulting with parents.

The school district discussed its proposed policy associated to "Transgender and Gender Diverse Students at a board meeting on Tuesday.

The document states its function is "consistent with the goals of reducing stigmatization and optimizing transgender and gender varied (TGD) trainees' social integration in District activities, programs, and services."

The policy contains a prolonged list of meanings associated with sex and gender.

" Understanding the terminology connected with gender identity and expression is necessary to providing a encouraging and safe school environment for all people," the file states.

The list of terms includes "biological sex," the definition of which includes the concept that sex is "appointed" at birth; "gender binary," which is referred to as a "model" that is "restricting and does not consider gender diverse people"; "gender diverse"; "gender fluid"; "gender nonconforming"; and "genderqueer.".

The guidelines of the policy state "the prerogative to assert the rights of the gender transgender and extensive students belong to the trainee and do not need extra parental/guardian consent," unless needed by law.

The policy continues concerning student privacy and privacy:.

All, persons, including students, have a right to personal privacy. This includes keeping a trainee's real or perceived gender identity and expression private. School workers should not disclose details about a TGD student's gender identity and expression to others, consisting of the trainee's parents/guardians and/or other school personnel, unless lawfully required to do so or unless the student has actually authorized such disclosure or explicitly revealed their gender identity in the school setting. District personnel are authorized to motivate students to reveal gender identity to parents/guardians and counsel trainees in this regard.

Students have the right to openly go over and express their gender identity and expression, and to choose when, with whom, and how much info to share.

District and school personnel may come across situations where transgender students have not disclosed their transgender status. School personnel should bear in mind the confidentiality and privacy rights of trainees when interacting with others, so regarding not to violate those rights by, for example, revealing, suggesting, or referring to a student's gender identity or expression.

To guarantee confidentiality when discussing a specific issue such as conduct, discipline, grades, presence, or health, school personnel's focus need to be particularly school related and not on the trainee's gender identity or expression.

The proposal consists of a section that needs integrating "positive details" about transgender identity and gender diversity in the curriculum and making sure info about the LGBTQ lifestyle is accessible to trainees online.

Diversity training for instructors and personnel is likewise suggested to include the idea that "bullying" of transgender trainees may be viewed as sexual harassment, and that a subsequent investigation may be necessitated.

" Schools only have authority over kids due to the fact that their parents hand over that authority," said Parents Defending Education Director of Outreach Erika Sanzi in a statement responding to the proposed policy. "Parents permit for the school to administer Tylenol or utilize their child's photo on a leaflet.".

" It is a complete betrayal of trust for a school to keep details and intentionally deceive moms and dads about their kid's gender identity at school, a far more consequential issue than taking Tylenol," Sanzi added.