Community Unit School District 300 uses gender support plan that appears to explain the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents

Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to Community Unit School District 300 seeking any guidance on transgender issues. The district provided PDE with a policy titled “Student Gender Support.” The policy appears vague if the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents: “Students have the right to openly discuss and express their gender identity and expression, and to decide when, with whom and how much information to share.”

Staff are mandated to use the preferred pronouns of students: “School personnel shall address the student by a name and pronoun that correspond to the student’s gender identity.” Students are allowed to use the restrooms and locker rooms as well as participate in athletic activities according to their preferred gender identity.

The district additionally provided PDE with the “Student Gender Support Plan” used with students identifying as transgender. This plan asks for a student’s preferred pronouns and name with language that appears to implicate the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents. The district notably asks in the plan: “Are guardian(s) of this student aware and supportive of their child’s gender status?” The next question then asks: “If not, what considerations must be accounted for in implementing this plan?”

The plan has another question that asks: “If the student has asserted a degree of privacy, what are expectations of the institution if that privacy is compromised? How will a teacher/staff member respond to questions about the student’s gender from:” One area of concern for this question is labeled as “parents.”

The district’s gender support plan takes language and questions directly from the gender support plan template created by Gender Spectrum. The organization Gender Spectrum is known for targeting young children with LGBTQ issues.