A school district in Ohio recently informed teachers that they do not have to notify parents of students as young as 11 years old if their child is transitioning and requests to be called by a “chosen name” or preferred pronouns.
Mentor Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Hamman sent an email to teachers in grades 6-12 on Aug. 31 detailing the policy, according to Fox News. Teachers do not have to inform parents of a student’s name or pronoun change if the student requests it “informally” and does not request it changes in the school’s online portal.
"If a student shares with a teacher what preferred name they would like to be called, and the student does not want it changed in IC or Google, there really is no need to go any further," the email shared with Fox stated.
"That teacher can just use those preferred pronouns/name with the student and there is no need to share the info with any other staff member or family member unless the student would like additional support with this throughout the year,” it added.
In a statement, the school district told Fox that it “will always focus on the best ways to meet the safety needs of our students and staff.”
"We will continue to work with our board members and legal counsel to determine the guidelines we will follow as the federal regulations and court cases around these topics evolve," the school district added.
Last month, Townhall reported how it was revealed that teachers in Fairfax County, Virginia were required to a complete training program ahead of the 2022-2023 school year that says parental consent is not required for transgender students who want to “socially” transition. “Social transitioning” includes going by a preferred name and preferred pronouns that align with someone’s “gender identity.”
The training program, “Supporting Gender Expansive and Transgender Youth,” was assigned on July 22 for teachers in all grade levels at Fairfax County Public Schools, including preschool, according to the Washington Examiner.
In April, I reported for Townhall how parents in Massachusetts alleged that their school district was carrying out secret gender transitions for their children. Allegedly, a teacher in the district was placed on leave for forwarding an email from a student saying she was “queergender” to her parents.
Another set of parents claimed that they were “deliberately hindered from ascertaining whether their children are being secretly counseled about and affirmed in discordant gender identities without their knowledge or consent” at school.
At a rally this month Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) criticized school districts for directing teachers to transition "transgender" students without their parents knowledge.
"They [school officials] think that parents have no right to know what your child is discussing with their teacher or their counselor, particularly when some of the most important topics, most important topics that a child may want to discuss are being determined," Youngkin said in his remarks.
"What's their name? What pronoun will they use? How are they going to express their gender?” he added. “This is a decision that bureaucrats in Fairfax County believe that they should be able to make without telling parents.”
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