This week an Ohio school district forced a teacher to resign because she refused to use the preferred gender names and pronouns chosen by her students instead of their given names.The teacher’s refusal was based on her perception that it violated her religious beliefs (it’s unclear what religious beliefs these were).

Under policies and state guidelines now in place schools can exclude parents from any conversations about their child’s decisions regarding gender and/or social and medical gender transitions. We believe this is wrong The more parents know the better they can be prepared to support changes that require they be included. We are providing an eight week educational series designed to make sure parents know the facts.

Parents have repeatedly presented evidence to the BOE that their children are exposed to gender choices and gender fluidity. As we’ve posted in the past, you can listen to just two of the parents’ stories by clicking here. There are many more.

The Maryland State Department of Education has taken the position that a child’s choice to be gender non-conforming or transgender is a privacy matter and has published guidelines that disclosure of gender choice to other people, including parents, is not required. FCPS has adopted these guidelines as part of policy 443 and its corresponding regulation 400-36.