Maine Regional School Unit 21 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 Maine Regional School Unit 21 seeking any guidance on transgender issues. The district did not respond. However, PDE did find a policy from the district titled “Transgender and Gender Expansive Students Administrative Procedure.” The 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/guardian, the administrator and school counselor/school counselor should first discuss parental involvement with the student to avoid inadvertently putting the student at risk of harm by contacting the student’s parents/guardians. It is incumbent upon the principals, counseling and social work staff to make that determination and to follow state laws, district policy, mandatory reporting statutes, and their own professions’ ethical practice guidelines in these circumstances.

If parents disagree with their children identifying as transgender, the policy explicitly states that parents will be ignored: “In the event that a student and their parent or legal guardian do not agree regarding the student’s gender identity or gender expression, the school shall whenever possible abide by the wishes of the student with regard to their gender identity and gender expression while at school.”

Staff and students are mandated to 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 consistently asserted at school.” Students are allowed to use the restrooms and locker rooms that match their preferred gender identity.