By TIM BARTO
The cultural assault to get children to see blurred lines between the sexes, question their own sexuality, and transition to the gender of their choice is now an assault by the public education system.
The US Department of Education is conducting investigations into public school systems in two states – Kansas and Massachusetts – because those school systems are ignoring federal regulations by allowing teachers and administrators to administer sexually explicit surveys and keep parents from knowing that their children are being allowed to identify as another gender.
Let’s be honest: It isn’t surprising to hear Massachusetts is up to such nefarious activities, but Kansas, the literal middle of America? Next thing you know, it’ll be reaching us way up here in the great Northwest. Sadly, it already has, thanks to the Anchorage School District. More on that a little later. Let’s take a closer look at Kansas and Massachusetts.
The Kansas schools in question are in Shawnee, Olathe, Kansas City, and Topeka (the middle of the middle.) State Attorney General Kris Kobach alerted Education Secretary Linda McMahon about the situation and McMahon initiated an investigation for violation of Title IX and the Family Educational Right and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Title IX is best known for giving women and girls equal access to athletic activities; an extremely successful piece of legislation that is now under assault by men and boys who want to compete as females and use female locker rooms. FERPA was designed to give parents the right to access their children’s education records and control the disclosure of their children’s personal information. Intentionally withholding information from a parent about their child’s gender transition infringes on those rights.
Secretary McMahon’s belief – and that of her boss, President Donald Trump – is that parents, not public school teachers or principals, are, by natural right and moral authority, the primary protectors of their children.
FERPA was again cited in Massachusetts after the Massachusetts Family Institute, a sister organization of Alaska Family Council, became aware that Burlington school officials thought it a swell idea to administer a sexually explicit survey to school children as young as eleven. The survey asked students to answer questions involving drug use and sexual activity, including their sexual experience and the ever important utilization of sex toys. Parents were not made aware of these surveys, even though they were supposed to have been given an opt-out option before their children were exposed to them. Now, MFI is pressing for an opt-in policy, meaning students will not be exposed to such activities unless the child’s parents opt to allow it.
That’s where American society is now. Public school officials, and the teacher’s unions that back them, are pushing gender ideology with the self-imposed arrogance that they have the authority to do so without informing parents. No matter how they argue their right to do so, it comes down to the same thing: they feel they know what is best for children. Parental rights be damned.
Secretary McMahon put it succinctly:
The practice of encouraging children down a path with irresersible repercussions – and hiding it from parents – must end. Attempts by school officials to separate children from their parents, convince children to feel unsafe at home, or burden children with the weight of keeping secrests from their loved ones is direct affront to the family unit. When such conduct violates the law the Department will take swift action.
The action her Department will be taking may very well be coming to a school district near us. Anchorage School District has their own guidelines, published on Aug. 20, 2020, and titled, “Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students and Employees,” it provides direction to promote gender bending among students and staff. “These guidelines,” it states, “are intended to be a resource that is compliant with district policies, local, state and federal laws,” but they are running afoul of laws, particularly those of the federal government.
It is obvious that the goal of these guidelines are to “address the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming students and employees,” as that is a direct quote from the document. The impact of these bending over backwards accommodations on the majority of straight, stable individuals is addressed as follows: “For example, a non-transgender student who is uncomfortable about sharing a restroom [with a member of the opposite sex identifying as transgender] can request access to an alternative restroom.” The priority is clear: transgender students can use the restroom they want to use, but if a straight student objects then that straight (read, transphobic) student must request an alternative.
But let’s get to the crux of the matter, that of hiding information from a student’s parents. Administrators and staff are to respect the rights of individuals to be addressed by and pronoun that corresponds to their gender identity. This information is to be obtained from the student in private, so the staff knows how the student wants to be addressed in the classroom, in correspondence with their parents, or during parent-teacher conferences.
To keep the process in order – and keep a student’s parents from knowing how their child prefers to be addressed when his/her parents are not around – the guidelines instruct staff when contacting a transitioning students’s legal name and pronouns that correspond to the student’s gender assigned at birth . . . unless the student, parent, or guardian has specified otherwise. In other words, construct a façade and stick to it unless the parents are on knowledgeable and on board with Johnny’s desire to be known as Sally.
There is some give on the District’s part when it comes to informing parents about their transitioning child. The grade level of the student is taken into consideration. For elementary students (keep in mind, this means children from ages five to twelve who decide they want to change genders) whose transition is creating difficulty for the student at school, approaching the parents is appropriate.
So, a modicum of common sense is in place at the elementary level. It’s at the secondary level, however, where the district guidelines stray and the government-run school asserts is dominance over parents. It reads:
“In some cases, however, notifying parents carries risks for the student if the family does not support the student’s desire to transition. Prior to notification of any parent or guarding regarding the transition process, school staff should work closely with the student to assess the degree to which, if any, the parent/guardian will be involved in the process, considering at all times the health, well-being, and safety of the transitioning student.”
All hail the transitioning students. If they don’t want their parents finding out what they’re up to, then they can rely on the school staff to keep it a secret. Teachers, superintendents, and counselors apparently know what’s best for children, especially when it comes to life altering decisions like choosing to act like a member of the opposite sex.
If this concerns you – and it should – then let the person in charge know. Dr. Jharett Bryantt is the superintendent of Anchorage School District, and can be reached at [email protected] or 907-742-4312.
Superintendent Bryantt is as left-leaning as they come. When the base student allocation debates were raging earlier this year, it was he who announced the ultimate Alaska threat – hockey programs would have to be cut . . . but then turned around and requested an increase in DEI funding. Nevertheless, he needs to hear from concerned citizens, especially parents of ASD students. Sitting by passively will not make a difference. Parents all over the country are finally speaking out, and it’s time Alaskans did the same, especially now that we have a supportive federal administration.
Tim Barto is vice president of Alaska Family Council and a regular contributor to Must Read Alaska.