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Parents sue school district for not notifying them that their child was going by masculine pronouns at school

https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/4369721-parents-sue-michigan-school-district-over-pronouns/
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So basically a biologically female student asked the school counselor to tell the teachers to use he/him pronouns and a masculine name. The counselor and the teachers complied.

The parents end up seeing a note that addresses their child with his preferred name and pronouns. Their reaction? “HOW DARE THE ADMINISTRATION NOT IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY US OF THIS PRONOUN CHANGE???”

All I have to say is, poor kid, not only did the parents file a lawsuit against the school district, but they pulled their child out of real school and switched him to homeschooling.

If you’re wondering why the school didn’t notify the parents, it’s because the school has a policy of not disclosing a student’s LGBT status to their parents if the student has not come out to them yet. Protecting the students’ privacy and their ability to come out to their parents when and how they see fit.

So the parents claimed in the lawsuit that by not notifying them about the pronoun change the school violated their 1st and 14th amendment rights, because they are [i]Christians[/i], and allowing one’s child to transition is against their religion.


This poor kid, the one place where he could truly be [i]him[/i]self, amongst his peers, friends, teachers that cared and accepted him, all that gets stripped away by his vindictive parents. Now he has no escape from the chronic invalidation of who he is as a person.

These parents should be asking themselves not “why didn’t the school tell us?” but “why didn’t [i]our child[/i] tell us?”
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SW-User
You have a point in the last paragraph. Having said that, it is disgraceful that any legislation can allow a situation where a school can keep this a secret from parents. That legislation is being changed, correctly, in UK.

I pity the poor teachers.
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
@SW-User A professional duty of care is incumbent upon professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers and teachers. If the child is considered to be at risk of harm, of course the parents' wishes can be over-ruled.

The UK legislation is unlikely to get off the ground as it has been ill thought out (like most decisions made by this government) and directed at an imaginary problem.
SW-User
@SunshineGirl UK legislation has been passed. The state should, of course, be allowed to untervene, which is why we have social service departments. My point was that schools should never be allowed to use pronouns without consulting with the parents. This double identify for the child, in the end, will come to no good.
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
@SW-User When I was at school some people protested against their children learning national curriculum sex education for fear it would encourage them to identify as gay. These 'fears' will pass, but the damage to a marginalised child will last a lifetime
SW-User
@SunshineGirl I think thats correct but my point was that schools should not have the right to keep information on gender id from parents. Everyone needs to be involved.
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
@SW-User A more constructive partnership between parents and teachers is defunitely a good starting point.