Teachers could hide student's gender identity from parents under proposed Pennsylvania school distri
WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (CITC) — Pennsylvania parents are outraged over a proposed public school district policy that would, among other things, keep them in the dark regarding their child's gender identity.
A first reading of the Upper Moreland School District's (UMSD) proposed "Transgender and Gender Diverse Students" policy sparked tension between school board members and the community Tuesday night. Some parents seemingly accused the board of failing to properly communicate that the policy was on the table.
Shame on me for only paying attention to what goes on with the school board until recently," one mother said.The proposal, which begins with defining a number of gender identity terminologies, would alter several current UMSD procedures. If passed, students will be permitted to use school restrooms and locker rooms which align with their gender identity. Additionally, teachers will be mandated to not only use a student's preferred pronouns, but also conceal them.
All persons, including students, have a right to privacy. This includes keeping a student’s actual or perceived gender identity and expression private," the policy reads. "Therefore, school personnel should not disclose information about a TGD [transgender and gender diverse] student’s gender identity and expression to others, including the student’s parents/guardians and/or other school personnel, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure or explicitly disclosed their gender identity in the school setting."The proposal does grant school personnel permission to encourage students to confide in their parents regarding their gender identity. However, some fear that is a gray area.
Keeping the parents in the dark about a child's gender confusion is deceptive, dangerous and violates the Fourteenth Amendment right, which protects the fundamental right of parents to direct the care, upbringing and education of their children," another mother said.Others chose to focus on restroom and locker room accessibility by pointing to previous sexual assault cases within UMSD. While raising concerns that cisgendered students may abuse the policy, they pleaded with the board to search for another solution.
Despite the option being raised, all eight UMSD board members chose not to weigh in on the proposed policy. An additional reading will be held at a later meeting.
The National Desk (TND) reached out to UMSD for comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.
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