A school district implemented a policy that allows teachers to facilitate children’s “transition” into their preferred “gender identity” without parental notice or consent. However, once parents found out, they immediately fought back.
A Wisconsin school district implemented a policy mandating that teachers affirm students’ “gender identity” and “transition” them into their chosen gender all while hiding this information from parents. Madison Metropolitan School District will not only allow faculty members to facilitate this transition but will also approve children’s name and gender changes without ever notifying parents.
“School staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s gender identity to others, including parents or guardians and other school staff, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure,” the policy states.
The policy is called “Guidance and Policies to Support Transgender, Non-binary, & Gender-Expansive Students.” Most disturbingly, the policy admits that the children making the transition may be suffering from “gender dysphoria,” yet denies parents the right to make crucial decisions regarding their own children, according to the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL).
- Children of any age can transition to a different gender identity at school, by changing their name and pronouns, without parental notice or consent.
- District employees are prohibited from notifying parents, without the child’s consent, that their child has or wants to change gender identity at school, or that their child may be dealing with gender dysphoria.
- District employees are even instructed to deceive parents by using the child’s legal name and pronouns with family, while using the different name and pronouns adopted by the child in the school setting.
After the policy was revealed, parents were understandably outraged. However, instead of simply complaining to the school, which hardly ever results in tenable change, the families decided to take the district to court for directly violating their parental rights as outlined in the state’s Constitution, The Blaze reports.
According to the lawsuit, the district’s policy infringes upon the rights of the parents to make important decisions on their children’s behalf and to raise their children in accordance with their personal and religious beliefs.
According to a 19-page lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Madison Metropolitan School District’s policies allow children to “socially transition to a different gender identity at school without parental notice or consent, requires all teachers to enable this transition, and then prohibits teachers from communicating with parents about this potentially life-altering choice without the child’s consent.”
The lawsuit maintains that the district has violated parents’ constitutional rights, including the basic right to be notified of and to make decisions regarding their children’s health and wellbeing.
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg said, “Madison schools have adopted policies that violate constitutionally recognized parental rights. A public school district should not, and cannot, make decisions reserved for parents.”
Initially, the institute issued a letter to demand that the district update and amend the policy or face a lawsuit. The school responded over a month later, verifying that there would be no change and that the policy would be followed as outlined. As such, the parents gathered to file a formal lawsuit.
“It is with this focus, the district stands by its guidance document on transgender and non-binary students, and recognizes its tremendous responsibility to uphold the right of every child to be educated in a safe, all-inclusive and nondiscriminatory learning evironment,” the district’s public information officer Tim Lemonds stated.
Bizarrely, the district appears to have a somewhat contradictory policy regarding its students’ basic information. Parental consent is still required before a child’s legal name can be altered in the district’s official records. However, the district claimed that students can be referred to by their preferred pronouns and names without parental notice or consent.
Unsurprisingly, this is the same school district that allowed biological male teacher Mark Busenbark to come out as a transgender female in a video to students, teaching them that they can presumably be born into the wrong body and asking them to refer to him by the gender-fluid pronoun “Mx.”
The education system has decided that it should be the arbiter in familial matters. Some schools are even taking on the role of the parent and denying citizens their rights to their children.
Madison Metropolitan School District is playing with fire. This policy not only encourages the breakdown of healthy family communication but also grants public educators the authority to make crucial decisions regarding students’ mental health.