Pueblo School District 60 has guidelines to keep gender identity of students secret from parents

Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to Pueblo School District 60 to obtain a copy of the district’s guidelines titled “Supporting Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Students and Staff.” PDE could not find the document on the school district’s website. The district provided PDE with the document upon request. The document states:

The school shall accept the gender identity that each student asserts; and there is no medical or mental health diagnosis or treatment threshold that students must meet in order to have their gender identity recognized and respected. Students ready to socially transition may initiate a process at the school to change their name, pronoun, and access to programs, activities, and facilities consistent with their gender identity.

The district adds in the document that “schools should avoid assuming the role of gatekeeper and should accept a student’s asserted gender identity.” The district also states that parents can be left in the dark regarding their children’s gender identity: “School personnel should involve parents or guardians in the implementation of these guidelines and the process of social transition at school to support the student’s well-being at school, but should first discuss the parental involvement with the student to avoid inadvertently putting the student at risk of harm by contacting the student’s parents.”

Teachers are additionally mandated to use the preferred pronouns of students. The document states: “The intentional or persistent refusal to respect a student’s gender identity (e.g., intentionally referring to the student by a name or pronoun that does not correspond to the student’s gender identity) is a violation of these guidelines.”

Students are allowed to use their preferred restrooms and locker rooms. Students can also participate in overnight field trips according to their gender identity: “In most cases, students who are transgender should be assigned to share overnight accommodations with other students that share the student’s gender identity.”

The document also has a “Gender Support Plan” for students. The plan states: “The purpose of this document is to create a shared understanding of how the student’s gender identity will be accounted for and supported at school.” One question on the plan asks: “Are parent(s)/guardian(s) aware of the student’s gender status?” If the “support level” of parents is low, the plan asks “what considerations must be accounted for in implementing this plan.”