At a recent Heritage Foundation panel called the Protecting Children in Education Summit, activists and scholars discussed and condemned the introduction of policies that allow transgender children to dictate their own pronouns and names at school. This policy has come under fire for violating the primary authority of parents and for "sexualizing children."
Parents have organized a lawsuit against the school district to change the policy. The school district, however, has attempted to support its approach with research that indicates that transgender children in Dane County and across America had adverse outcomes in numerous categories as compared to their cisgender peers. In addition, a CDC report published in 2019 concluded that almost 3% of high schools students identify as transgender and that 35% of these students attempt suicide.
Federal law requires parental permission to change a student's name in their database. Similarly, Madison Metropolitan School District requires at least one parent's approval for any change to their online district system (Infinite Campus). However, current administrative policies in Wisconsin public schools allow students to personally dictate their names and pronouns at school without consulting parents.
According to Luke Berg, deputy counsel with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, the policy was passed without a vote from the school board and without "broad input" from parents. Consequently, parents in Madison, Wisconsin have filed a lawsuit against the school district, Doe vs Madison Metropolitan School District. The plaintiffs argue that the policy is in conflict with federal guidelines and that transgenderism is inappropriate for children, while the defendants argue that their policies are suitable for when children do not want to come out to their parents due to a risk of losing housing or family resources.
A comprehensive guidebook created by the school district reads, "Families can request a meeting to review their child's gender support plan at any time" and "Families should be made aware of the policies, practices, and guidance that support and protect their child."
According to ChristianPost, the transgender identity policy was pushed for by groups such as the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network, the ACLU, the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Education Association. Indeed, some of the research that informed the policy was done by the GLSEN.
Both sides of this debate are passionate about their convictions. It is necessary that level-headed, rational discussion takes place to make sure no one is harmed by policies such as these.
