Why Do Schools Keep Important Information from Parents?

             Families, communities, and nations are stronger when parents are involved with schooling. However, some schools are not be open and honest with parents. Nicole Russell has an article at The Daily Signal about a case in Wisconsin where a school district was deceiving parents, but a judge issued an injunction.

The Madison Metropolitan School District, which is Wisconsin’s second-largest school district, was sued by 14 parents to stop the schools from withholding information from parents. They are supported by Alliance Defending Freedom and Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

The lawsuit was filed because the Madison school district instituted a policy that kept important information from parents.

Russell wrote that the policy “promotes transgender ideology in the schools” and also “allows teachers to conceal pertinent information that students share” with them. The “latter part of the policy” was “specifically about gender dysphoria – or a student’s desire to ‘identify with’ the opposite sex – even if the child’s parents were unaware or disapproving.” The teachers cannot share this information with the parents unless the child signs a consent form.

The judge was right to issue an injunction because the policy was unusually devious from the start. It was in no way ad hock, accidental, or innocent: If a child approached a teacher about wanting to quietly transition to the other gender, the teacher was required to fill out a “Gender Support Plan.”

Under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, parents can see all school records about their children, but the law excludes teachers’ personal notes from parental review. Thus, the school district instructed teachers to put any information about gender identity there, so parents would not be able to see the notes, even under federal law.

The district’s policy specifies: “School staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s gender identity to others, including parents or guardians and other school staff unless legally required to do so.”

            Russell admitted that “Most school are open and transparent” and most teachers are anxious to “brag on a child’s success or tattle on poor behavior.” This was not the case with the Wisconsin school district, and the judge was right to put a stop to it. Parents should be involved with their children’s education, and they need open and honest communication from the school about anything that affects their children. When parents and schools work together for the good of the children, families, communities, and nations are strengthened.