According to a Fox News exclusive, public school districts in the state of Idaho are being told to put procedures into place that would ban staff from disclosing a student’s name or gender changes to parents without permission.
Public school districts in the state have been ordered by the Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA) to stop staff members from telling parents about students’ petitions to change their gender and names.
The “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” policies of the Buhl, Middleton, Challis, Marsh Valley, and Wilder school districts say that staff members that violate a student’s privacy about LGBTQ problems run the possibility of being demoted or even dismissed.
According to one school district policy:
“School personnel should not reveal a student’s sexual orientation or transgender status to others, despite the setting, including other school staff or (in the case of middle school students, junior high school students, and high school students) the student’s parents/guardians, until they have a valid need to know or until the student has approved such disclosure,” states the policy.
“Action in violation of a student’s confidentiality could subject an employee to discipline, up to and including potential dismissal and, for certified personnel, a report will be sent to the Professional Standards Commission,” it continues, outlining the potential repercussions for employees who break the policy.
Additionally, it states that “unless the student or parent/guardian has requested otherwise, school staff shall use the student’s legal name and the pronoun that corresponds to the gender given at birth when contacting the parent/guardian of a transgender student.”
It’s “time for local school districts to take a stance against these unaccountable bureaucrats and shut off the faucet,” according to Nicole Neily, President of Parents Defending Education.
Importantly, she added:
“This is more evidence that being a resident of a “red” state doesn’t shield families from these challenges at school and that established institutions of power in education policy—like school board associations—are just as much a part of the issue as well-known activist organizations.”
In response to the recommendations, the Payette School District fought back in December 2021, with a staff member informing an ISBA member that “our board refuses to eliminate parental rights for a child.” After some time, the school district changed the policy to state that staff members “should not participate in conversations pertaining to a student’s transgender status or sexual orientation to other persons, regardless of setting, including students or school officials, unless they have a valid educational need to know or unless the student/family has permitted such disclosure.”
