Cheltenham School District encourages teachers to hide student gender identity from parents

Cheltenham School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, has a policy that requires teachers to keep students’ gender identities hidden from parents. 

The policy was adopted in June of 2022 and states that “All persons, including students, have a right to privacy, which includes the right to keep private one’s transgender status or gender expansive presentation at school. Therefore, school personnel should not disclose this information to others, including the student’s parents/guardians.”

The policy continues, “When contacting the parent or guardian of a transgender or gender expansive student, school personnel should use the student’s legal name and the pronoun corresponding to the student’s gender assigned at birth unless the student has specified otherwise.”

In addition to keeping students’ gender identities hidden from parents, this policy also requires the District to “incorporate education and training about gender expansive and transgender students into their anti-bullying curriculum, student leadership trainings, and staff professional development.” According to the policy, staff professional development sessions will include “Appropriate strategies for communicating with students and parents/guardians about issues related to gender identity and gender expression, while protecting student privacy.”

Read the full policy here.