WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: Proposed gender policy sparks debate
Rachel Rosen reports from the Oak Harbor School District board meeting of Mon., Aug. 9, 2022:
Several Oak Harbor parents voiced their opinions on a proposed policy revision that would allow counselors to tell parents that their child is transgender, even if the student does not want them to…
…Under the proposal, counselors would have to first determine that the student wouldn’t face danger at home before notifying parents.
The current policy states school counselors must honor students’ wishes regarding family involvement in matters of gender identity and expression.
They Said It
Jessica Thompson, who previously ran for the Oak Harbor School Board, said that teens often want to keep things secret from their parents, not because of the threat of abuse, but simply to avoid “being held accountable” or being lectured.
“Keeping things of this nature from parents strips children of their family’s protection,” she said, “and we as parents must indeed protect them from ideologies turning children against parents who advocate against puberty blockers and transitional surgeries.”
Fe Mischo spoke at the meeting on the behalf of PFLAG Whidbey Island, a LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, and as a parent of a trans child. She said while she understood why parents wanted the policy change, counselors cannot know for sure that a child is living in a safe home.
“I can vouch that not all households are what they seem,” Mischo said.
She encouraged people to visit pflag.org for resources for families of LGBTQ+ people.
Board member Bob Hallahan said avoiding difficult conversations trades short-term discomfort for long-term dysfunction.
“I hesitate to build an expectation among students that they can maintain a gender at school that is different than the one they have at home,” he said, but also acknowledged that some parents may be hostile to a child’s gender identity change.
Hallahan and School Board President Jessica Aws both encouraged parents to continue to voice their opinions on this policy in the coming weeks. Aws said that the primary goal for the school district was to protect and provide a safe place for students to receive an education.
“This is something we have to really carefully consider and we really appreciate all your feedback,” she said.
