An update on our proposal to require parental notification and our comments regarding the arguments against it.

1. Summary of the reasons the proposal is necessary
2. Update on the current status
3. The primary arguments of opponents to dismiss the proposal

Summary of the reason for the proposal

On Feb 8, we submitted a comprehensive proposal to replace the current policy defining how gender identity and expression are to be handled in FCPS. The current policy is six years old and hasn’t been updated in over 4 years. The biggest problem, other than lacking any updates reflecting what the medical and psychological community has learned about gender dysphoria in children and how to treat it, is that it continues to prohibit parents and their healthcare professionals from participating in the choices their children are making with the support of the school, and the resulting inability of parents and their healthcare providers to provide the best care and support for their individual children.

Update

In the most recent BOE meeting on 2/22 we asked that the Board and Superintendent consider the testimony of 2/8 about the potential damage that could result from the existing policy, the potential legal exposure for FCPS of continuing the current policy, and the specious nature of the arguments opposing the new policy. These points were detailed in our letter to the Board and Superintendent Dyson on 2/27. Click here to read the letter.

Over the next several weeks, the Board will decide whether to send the policy proposal to the Policy Committee for consideration. The votes of three Board members are needed to do this and at this time it appears that only one Board member supports sending it to the Policy Committee. The Board seems to be leaning towards updating the existing policy rather than replacing it, although it is unclear what that update would contain or whether it would consider any part of our proposal, including parental notification.

The primary arguments made against our proposed policy are not based in fact.

Potential parental abuse. Opponents of parental notification repeatedly insist that doing so would place the child in a harmful environment at home and result in mental and physical abuse, including forcing children out of the house (and into homelessness). There is no data that supports this. In fact, what’s actually happening appears to be the opposite.

Several members of the BOE have referenced this argument against notification in past comments when discussing the topic.

Instances of families forcing their children out of the house for any reason are rare and are being used as an emotional argument by opponents who want it applied to all cases. Stating that no parent should be included because a small segment may react in an abusive way is an emotional argument (i.e., not supported by the facts).  Our policy specifically addresses this situation.  

Outing children. This argument incorrectly compares the notification to parents that their child is exhibiting symptoms of gender dysphoria or is transgender to outing someone who is gay or lesbian. Gender dysphoria is a clinically acknowledged psychiatric condition listed in the DSM-5-TR that should be supported with the guidance of medical professionals.   It is not “outing” a student to tell parents their child has exhibited the symptoms of gender dysphoria any more than it would be “outing” an anorexic, dyslexic, or a student with any other diagnosable mental condition.  Unlike gender dysphoria, being gay is not a diagnosable mental condition.

Reading our proposal or the above-referenced letter to the BOE can mitigate misinformation about the policy and its intentions. In the Policy and BOE meetings of 2/22 an opponent of the new proposal, Peter Brehm, said he is “alarmed at attempts to change and subvert policy 443 and especially by a person or organization that advocates conversion therapy”.  If he had read our proposal, he would know that it specifically disavows conversion therapy, calling it a barbaric practice, and included language to ensure FCPS would never conduct it.  What you need to know is it’s unfortunately common for transgender activists to label any therapeutic practice that doesn’t immediately change a child’s name and pronouns as conversion therapy, which is inaccurate and misleads the public.

In what has unfortunately is becoming a common emotional and ideological attack on advocates of parents rights, a Washington teacher that said we must do more to keep students’ info secret from “Christo-fascist” parents. Click here to read the full story.

We strongly urge parents and community members to read our proposal and attend our April 5 event at the Urbana Library to better understand how to separate fact from fiction.