Brunswick County Schools has guidance that appears to explain the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents

Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to Brunswick County Schools seeking any guidance the district has regarding transgender issues. A representative of the district told PDE that “all school-based employees must go through our Human Resources Department Vector Training that includes a module titled, ‘Making Schools Safe and Inclusive for Transgender Students.'” The district also provided PDE with a document titled “Guidance for Preferred Name/Preferred Pronouns.”

This document explicitly states: “If parent consent is not on record at the school, staff must use the student name and pronoun that aligns with the gender at birth.” However, the document also appears to emphasize that the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents. School counselors should be notified if students want to use other preferred pronouns or names. If parents are not aware, the counselor can either “encourage the student to speak with his/her parent(s) regarding the preferred name/preferred pronoun” or “offer to schedule a meeting with the student and parent to discuss the preferred name request.”

The document then alludes that if the student rejects these options, parents simply will not be told and that “staff must utilize the birth name and gender.”