Brunswick School Department has policy to keep gender identity of students hidden from parents; district will ignore parents if they disagree

Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to the Brunswick School Department seeking any guidance on transgender issues. The district provided PDE with a policy titled “Transgender Students.” The policy is very similar to a policy that PDE received from a public records request to Maine School Administrative District 15 in which the superintendent of the district explained to PDE that the policy was created by the Maine School Boards Association (MSBA). The district’s policy appears to explain that the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents:

In the case of a student who has not yet informed their parent(s)/guardian(s), the administrator will first discuss parent/guardian involvement with the student to avoid inadvertently putting the student at risk by contacting their parent(s)/guardian(s). The student will be notified by the administrator prior to contacting their parent(s)/guardian(s).

The policy mandates that staff and students use the preferred pronouns of other students: “The student should be addressed by school staff, substitutes, volunteers and other students by the name and pronoun corresponding to their gender identity that is asserted at school.” Students are also allowed to use the restrooms and locker rooms that match their preferred gender identity.

An additional document that the district provided to PDE is titled “Gender/Name Request Procedures.” This document states that parents who disagree with their children identifying as transgender will be ignored:

In the event that the student and their parent/legal guardian do not agree with regard to the student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, the school will, whenever possible, abide by the wishes of the student with regard to their gender identity and expression while at school.

The document that allows students to change their gender identity in schools also allows students to identify as “non-binary.”