Nebo School District provided training to staff that appears to explain the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents; provided training on “implicit bias” that specifically targeted “white students”

Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to the Nebo School District seeking any transgender guidance used for students. The district provided PDE with several training presentations for staff on diversity and “gender sensitivity.” One presentation is titled “Gender Sensitivity Training.” The presentation appears to explain that parents can be left in the dark regarding the gender identity of their children. When students want to go by different preferred pronouns or names, the presentation explains to ask the students if they want their parents involved:

This is often the first step in transitioning from one gender to another. Consider asking the student if he/she would like to schedule a meeting with parents to discuss other issues that may arise and to ensure there is a plan in place to help the student feel safe.

The presentation then explains that students should be addressed “by the preferred name and/or pronoun.” When discussing if parents should be notified, the presentation states that parents only need to be notified if there is a “serious threat to the well-being of a student.” The presentation then states:

Knowledge of a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation alone does not likely constitute a serious threat. Unless the student is being bullied on the basis of his gender identity or sexual orientation, it is unlikely that you can establish a serious threat to a student’s well-being, even if you know the student’s parents and know that the student’s parents would not approve.

The presentation adds regarding parental knowledge: “The ACLU is very protective of a student’s right to privacy in his/her sexuality.” Staff are then presented with several scenarios of students identifying as transgender and how to handle those situations.

The school district provided PDE with a document titled “Practical Tips for Interacting with Transgender Students” that reiterated the points of the presentation.

The school district also provided PDE with several training presentations on “diversity.” These presentations teach staff about “implicit bias” and appear to specifically target “white students” in the same example provided in each presentation. This example tells teachers to “raise your hand” if they had “white students, born and raised in Utah, who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS faith) and who speak English as their primary language and who live with both mom and dad.” Teachers then lowered their hands if they had students who are immigrants, gay, transgender, or other races and ethnicities. These presentations also repeat the same points as the previous presentation on transgender issues.

The school district additionally provided PDE with a training presentation titled “Creating an Inclusive Community.” This presentation teaches about “microaggressions.” It asks staff questions such as “Are you a racial or ethnic minority?” and “Do you identify as queer?” This presentation also lists problems regarding the issue of sexuality, including one that references “faith.” These problems include “refusing to use a person’s preferred pronoun (grammatical issues, faith),” “assuming a person’s gender identity,” “assuming a person’s sexual preference (male/female marriage),” “creating vignettes or story problems with only heterosexual individuals in the story,” and “not making bathroom accommodations for transgender individuals.”

The presentation also states that the phrases “I don’t see color” and “no problemo” are issues. The presentation linked to a document at the end titled “Recognizing Microaggressions and the Messages They Send” that further discussed examples of “microaggressions.”