Lake Stevens School District explicitly tells staff to keep the gender identity of students a secret from parents; tells staff that revealing a student’s gender identity could be “very dangerous”

The Lake Stevens School District has a policy that explicitly tells staff to keep the gender identity of students a secret from parents. The policy states: “Before contacting a student’s parents, the school will consult with the student about the student’s preferences regarding family involvement and honor those preferences.” The policy later adds:

The Lake Stevens School District accepts and encourages the use of preferred names and pronouns for students and staff. When a student discloses information to a teacher, counselor, or other staff member about their gender identity, the school counselor will privately ask the student how they want to be addressed in class, in correspondence to the home, and at conferences with the student’s parent/guardian.

The district then appears to threaten staff into keeping the gender identity of students a secret from parents and labels revealing this information as “dangerous.” The district states:

Before communicating with parents of transgender or gender expansive students, it’s important to ask the student how school employees should refer to the student when talking with their parents and guardians. For families who are supportive, using the student’s name and pronoun could be affirming for the student. For parents who are not supportive, or who are not aware of the student’s transition at school, referring to their name and pronoun could be very dangerous. The District will not condone the intentional or persistent refusal to respect a student’s gender identity or gender expression or the inappropriate release of information regarding a student’s transgender or gender-expansive status.

Students are also allowed to use restrooms and locker rooms and participate in sports and overnight field trips according to their preferred gender identity. The policy additionally explains that staff will be trained in “terms and concepts related to gender identity, gender expression, and gender diversity in children and adolescents” and in “appropriate strategies for communicating with students and parents about issues related to gender identity and gender expression, while protecting student privacy.”