As if you needed more proof that progressives think your children belong to the state and not their parents, a Wisconsin school district recently told teachers that people are “not entitled” to know their kids’ gender identity.
With all of the hubbub over Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” Bill, which the left deceptively refers to as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” stories like this remind us why such legislation might be necessary. Wisconsin Spotlight, a conservative, state-based publication from the Empower Wisconsin Foundation, reported on the content of a teacher’s training session given in the Eau Claire Area School District.
The 2021-2022 Equity session on Safe Spaces includes a slide telling educators that “parents are not entitled to know their kids’ identities,” and that such knowledge “must be earned.”
This lesson is also taught:
It is often difficult for teachers to navigate this complicated situation. In ECASD, our priority is supporting the student,” the professional development facilitator guide states. Teachers were encouraged to “Talk amongst yourselves!”
Naturally, parents weren’t exactly thrilled when they found out their school district encouraged teachers to conceal this type of information. Nicole Everson and Corey Cronrath issued a joint statement.
We are appalled that ECASD would display such blatant disregard for the parents and guardians of our community’s children. We are equally dismayed that current school district leadership would pressure teachers into breaking a social contract that we all know and understand—that parents and guardians hold primary responsibility and decision making for the welfare and care of their children.
The district’s approach to gender-related issues has been criticized before. Last week, controversy erupted after a staffer with Eau Claire North High School put up a poster that read: “If your parents aren’t accepting of your identity, I’m your mom now. #freemomhugs.”
Parents stated other copies of the posters were featured on the doors of other teachers’ classrooms.
The sign is shown here in a photo:
Wisconsin Spotlight also pointed out that this particular training session is “legally suspect.” The author wrote:
A district court in 2020 issued a partial injunction against Madison Metropolitan School District’s policy allowing children of any age to transition to a different gender identity at school — without parental consent. Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently hearing the entire case.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the lawsuit on behalf of a group of parents challenging the gender identity policy “that violates the rights of parents to make important healthcare decisions on their children’s behalf.”
The policy being challenged allows children of any age to “transition to a different gender identity at school, by changing their name and pronouns, without parental notice or consent.”
It also prohibits district employees from “notifying parents, without the child’s consent” that their child wishes to alter their gender identity at school, or even that the student could be experiencing gender dysphoria.
The policy even goes so far as to require district employees to lie to parents by using their child’s legal name and pronouns while speaking with them or other family members, while using the alternate name adopted by the child while in a school setting.
ECASD Superintendent Michael Johnson defied parents’ objections by claiming the district is maintaining an environment that is “equitable, safe and inclusive for all students.” He said:
“Our staff often find themselves in positions of trust with our students. The staff development presentation shared extensive data and information to assist our staff members in our ongoing efforts to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all students.”
This approach, while a problem in many schools, is not being used by all districts. This scenario is happening in schools across the nation, unbeknownst of parents whose children are in such classrooms. The trend is indicative, as I have said, of the growing belief that the state should take the lead in educating children and parents should only play a second role.
RedState spoke with Erika Sanzi from Parents Defending Education’s Director of Outreach.
“It is unsettling to know that teachers are being trained to believe that parents are not entitled to information about their children. A school could say parents should have knowledge of their children, but this is absurd. Only parental consent gives schools authority over children. They can’t be working ‘in loco parentis’ while actively concealing information from parents.”
Wisconsin’s legislature passed its own Parental Bill of Rights, similar to that of Florida’s. The Democratic governor. Tony Evers would likely vote against the proposal.
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