Columbus City Schools paid consultants $24,000 for professional development on “queer and trans inclusion” that included the “wheel of power/privilege” and a recommendation that districts hide student records from parents

PDE has learned via a public records request that the Columbus City Schools paid $24,200.83 to consultants to present for two days on “Queer and Trans inclusion.” The presentation included the ‘Wheel of Power/Privilege’ graphic and recommended a district policy that allows staff to hide student transitions from parents. The two-day training for district school counselors and psychologists was run by Q-inclusion, currently now known as “Hey Wes,” from September 22-23, 2022. The professional development included the topics of gender identity, pronoun use, “cis privilege” and the need to maintain privacy and withhold information from students’ parents.

The “Wheel of Power/Privilege” seen here was used as part of the presentation:

A chart included in the presentation suggested that educators refrain from using terms like “boys and girls” to address a class.

Q-Inclusion’s presentation recommends that educators refrain from sharing students’ new gender identity with their parents and that there be a “private place within the students records” that is not accessible to parents.

Educators were given multiple scenarios throughout the presentation one asking what a teacher would do if a students parent was not aware of their gender identity. These scenarios were given just a few slides after the educators were instructed to refrain from contacting students parents about gender identity.