Gender clinic sends email to Tacoma Public Schools to provide transgender survey to students; will pay students $20 to take the survey

Parents Defending Education received an email from a public records request to Tacoma Public Schools where a “research scientist” from the Multicare Gender Health Research Program asked for a survey to be sent to students as young as 14 years old. The email is dated February 20, 2023. The survey is described as “confidential” for “trans and gender-expansive young people, ages 14-24.” The survey is specifically about “gender affirming healthcare.” People who take the survey are offered a “$20 e-gift card to Fred Meyer or Amazon.” The email additionally states:

Please do not post anything about this online, especially on social media. We have learned that bots and bad actors specifically target queer research efforts to sabotage the work and/or take the financial incentive. We have several data quality/safety measures built in, but I’d like to do everything we can to ensure that real and eligible humans are participating.

The survey asks numerous questions where participants answer “strongly agree,” “agree,” “somewhat agree,” “somewhat disagree,” “disagree,” or “strongly disagree.” Some questions asked in this survey include:

• I know where to find good information about gender affirming care.
• My gender affirming care provider respects who I am.
• I have had to teach my healthcare providers about gender affirming care.
• I know/knew how to navigate the transition into adult gender affirming care.
• I have experienced microaggressions, discrimination, or hostility from my parents/caregivers about my gender identity.
• I think that my primary healthcare provider has talked or might talk to my parents/caregivers about my gender without my permission.
• My parents/caregivers accept my gender identity.
• I worry that I might regret taking gender affirming hormones.
• My parents/caregivers are (or were) worried about or afraid of me receiving gender affirming care.