A Michigan public school district denies that it hides the transgender identity of students from their parents, though documents obtained by a concerned parent organization show otherwise.
Davison Community Schools, just west of Flint, appears to instruct adult educators and administrators to hide gender-related issues from the parents of students, according to a document titled “Confidential Gender Support Plan.” A local parent sent the plan to the group Parents Defending Education.
The document states that the school district develops a plan for each student struggling to find their “authentic gender.” The document is guidance for how the student’s alleged gender will be “supported at school.” Educators describe whether the student’s parents are “aware and supportive” of their child’s gender status.
Screenshot/Parents Defending Education
The gender support plan also asks what name and gender the student wants in the district’s student information system, which restroom they prefer to use, where the student will change clothes and what the “expectations regarding rooming for any overnight trips” are. (RELATED: Parent Group Sues Iowa School District Over Gender Ideology Requirements)
Michelle Edwards, a district spokeswoman, told the Daily Caller that the district does not have a policy for notifying parents about gender identity. Edwards claims the district does not believe in hiding the identity of students from their parents.
“The District does not have a policy but we believe strongly in parental rights and would contact parents regarding a minor student’s gender identity if the student was not identifying as the gender corresponding to their biological sex,” Edwards said.
Erika Sanzi, Director of Outreach for Parents Defending Education, told the Daily Caller she believes the district’s behavior is deceptive.
“Parents don’t delegate authority to schools so they can be deceived by those who care for their children. Schools are charged with serving in loco parentis — in place of a parent — and this gender policy completely violates the trust that is inherent in that agreement,” Sanzi said.
