Colorado Teacher Disciplined for Not Affirming Transgender Student’s Identity – Opinion

A high school teacher in Jefferson County (Jeffco), Colorado, was disciplined for failing to affirm a student’s transgender identity. This story is just the latest example of how schools districts in America are trying to instill far-leftist ideologies in K-12 classrooms.

The teacher, who decided to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals, told RedState that last year, he “was asked by a freshman student via email (Covid environment) on the last day of class if there was an opportunity to pass my class.” The school has extended semester options that a failing student can use to earn a passing grade.

The student informed the teacher that “she was going under a new name & gender but not telling her parents.” The educator gave the student a passing grade and also “provided an internet link to information about young people regretting their transition.”

RedState asked the teacher to explain why he was sending this link. Also, what transpired afterward.

The motive behind my actions was to keep myself safe from parents finding out that I had changed identities. My student had reported me to the school and I was disciplined. This is my only incident in over 15 years of being in this district. As part of a formal grievance I reached out to the mother. She was supportive and they have since left Colorado.

Jefferson County Education Association concluded that the teacher was in violation of district policy. It concluded that “only ‘gender affirming’ information can be discussed with students, and referring to the transgender movement as a ‘trend’ was prohibited language.”

JCEA subsequently imposed a formal discipline on the teacher. The teacher said: “Mandatory ‘gender sensitivity’ training was required as well, which included gender affirming testimonials of elementary students.”

He was also required to see videos where young transgender people promote the decision to switch to another gender. One of the videos includes a seven-minute lecture from Joel Baum, Senior Director for Professional Development at Gender Spectrum, in which he teaches about how schools can become more “welcoming for students of all genders.” Gender Spectrum is an organization that works with schools to promote progressive gender ideology.

RedState received a statement from the teacher stating that they reinforce progressive ideas on gender identity in a daily basis. It has “permanent posters in the common areas” of the school that cover topics like “trans flags” and “proper pronoun usage.” The school encourages educators to post a “safe space” sign, with a “rainbow triangle at the entrance of their classrooms.”

Jeffco Public Schools’ policy regarding transgenderism is similar to what is seen in states like Wisconsin, California, Virginia, and others. Its Board of Education guidelines, are ostensibly intended to “address the needs of students who are transgender and gender nonconforming and clarify how state law should be implemented in situation where questions may arise about how to protect the legal rights and safety of such students.”

The guidelines suggest that educators “ask privately at the beginning of the year how a student might want to be addressed in class” to ensure they are fostering an inclusive environment. “Always use the student’s preferred name whether the name is legally changed or not, not unlike the common practice of using a nickname by which others refer to the student rather than their legal name,” the document reads. “The intentional or persistent refusal to respect a student’s gender identity (intentionally using a name or pronoun that does not correspond to the student’s gender identity) is a violation of these Guidelines.”

Teachers are also instructed not to tell parents about a student’s wish to make the transition.

School staff shall not disclose information that may reveal a student’s transgender status to others, including parents and other school staff, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure.

The district also instructs teachers to use the student’s legal name and pronouns related to their “gender assigned at birth” when contacting parents.

Jeffco Public Schools includes 155 K-12 education institutions and 17 high schools. The school has 69,000 students for the 2021-2022 academic year.

This story is just one of many that have been published about how progressive districts present their views on sexuality, race, gender and gender to children in K-12 schools. This database contains all the news articles that covered this topic over the last 2 years.