The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has released a new guidance report encouraging schools to keep the gender identities of students a secret from their families and insisting that a child’s preferred gender identity be readily accepted.
“School personnel’s acceptance of a student’s asserted gender identity should require no more than a statement from the student expressing their preference. Schools do not need to require permission, letters from professionals, or other proof of gender identity,” the NYSED report (pdf) reads.
It goes on to state that some transgender and gender expansive (TGE) students may have kept their gender identities hidden from their families because of “safety concerns or a lack of acceptance.” Schools must keep in mind that some TGE students “do not want or cannot have their parents/guardians know [sic] about their transgender status.”
The report warns schools that prematurely disclosing a student’s gender identity can have “severe consequences” for the child.
It cited a Human Rights Campaign report that stated that 64 percent of TGE students who were surveyed reported that their families “made them feel wrong for their gender identity.” Parental rejection was blamed for “higher rates of homelessness and housing instability” among transgender youth.
The guidance insisted that a child is in “charge of their gender transition” and that the role of a school is to “provide support” to the students during the transition.
“If a student has formally requested to transition at school, the school administrator or another trusted adult, preferably trained in supporting LGBTQ and Gender Expansive students, can meet with the student and determine the steps the student is comfortable taking,” the report stated.
Transitioning Children Without Parental Approval
NYSED’s guidance was heavily criticized online. “They’re out of bounds. Parents have the right to know what is happening to their child,” the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) wrote on Twitter on June 17.
“In New York, parents’ rights are directly under attack. This is unacceptable and must be stopped immediately,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said in a June 15 tweet.
Schools from other states across the United States are also implementing steps to facilitate the gender transition of students without informing their parents.
In Pennsylvania, the Greater Johnstown School District established “gender support and gender transition plans” that don’t require parental involvement.
The gender support plan includes questions such as “Are guardian(s) of this student aware and supportive of their child’s gender transition?” and “What considerations must be accounted for by implementing this plan?”
In May, a parental rights group accused a school of socially transitioning 23 students between January 2020 and October 2022 without getting consent from their parents. Eight of the students were of elementary school age.
Social transitioning involves changing a student’s name, pronouns, and email address so as to reflect their gender identity.
Parental Rights in Danger
Parental rights are under even more threat in California. Critics are denouncing proposed legislation that they claim seeks to pressure family court judges to award custody of children to “gender-affirming” parents in child custody disputes.
During a June 13 hearing on the proposed legislation, state Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) warned parents: “If you love your children, you need to flee California.
“In recent years, we have put government bureaucrats between parents, children, and doctors when it comes to medical care. And now, we have this where if a parent does not support the ideology of the government, they’re going to be taken away from the home. … I can assure you, this not going to end with divorce proceedings.”
In a June 16 ADF article, Kate Anderson, senior counsel at ADF, pointed out that gender support plans at schools to enable the transition of students hurt children and their parents.
Children who suffer discomfort need “compassionate mental health care” and the support of their parents. Many schools in the United States are encouraging children struggling with their identity to make “life-altering” decisions without talking to their parents, according to the article.
The decision to keep parents in the dark about their children’s gender identity issues is being made “under the guise of ‘support’ and ‘acceptance’ for children,” Anderson wrote.
“But their actions do neither. Instead, they drive a wedge between students and their parents when these children need their parents most.”
