A Colorado school district reportedly sparked outrage after the local teachers union sent an email to its members instructing teachers and staffers to get rid of evidence of asking students about their gender identities.
According to a report from CBS News, parents in Jefferson County, Colorado claimed that the teachers are trying to break state laws “and their union is helping them get away with it.” The teachers union reportedly told its members that if they chose to do a student gender identity questionnaire this year, to try their best to cover their tracks. Reportedly, these types of surveys are illegal unless parents can opt out.
“[If] you do a questionnaire, please make it a paper and pencil activity – any digital records are more permanent and may be requested under federal law,” the Jefferson County Education Association reportedly wrote in the email, adding to “make your notations about students and not hold on to the documents.”
Denice Crawford, a mother of three kids in the school district, told CBS that she sent an email to all employees reminding them that “mandatory surveys that ask kids about protected information” are illegal unless the parents have a say. Then, her son reportedly came home from school with a survey his teacher gave him that asked him about his gender identity.
Crawford told the outlet she felt “deceived” and “lied to.”
“I don’t feel I can trust the teachers,” she explained, adding that she isn’t “anti-LGBTQ+.”
“This is not political. It’s just they’re breaking the law,” she said.
Another parent, school board member Susan Miller, told the outlet that “leadership actually provided an avenue to get around the law and basically saying it was OK.”
JCEA President Brooke Williams sent a statement to the outlet that did not explain why the union told its members to destroy documents about their students’ gender identities.
"By allowing students an optional avenue to share their preferred pronouns while maintaining student privacy, we can better ensure that students feel safe, respected, and validated. We encourage and support educators to follow Jeffco's district policy which states: School staff shall not disclose information that may reveal a student's transgender status to others, including parents and other school staff, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure. Transgender and gender nonconforming students have the right to discuss and express their gender identity and expression openly and to decide when, with whom, and how much to share private information,” the statement read.
Townhall has previously reported on many school districts that conceal information about students’ gender identities from parents. However, several polls have shown that parents support policies that keep them in the loop.
“These immoral policies undermine the relationship between parent and child – and, to add insult to injury, is being underwritten with our own tax dollars through the public school system," Nicki Neily, president and founder of parental rights organization Parents Defending Education said in a statement.
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