Upper Moreland School District proposes new transgender policies mandating use of preferred pronouns and bathrooms; urges teachers not to disclose info to parents and to incorporate “positive information” about gender identity into curriculum

At its January 17th, 2023 board meeting, the Upper Moreland School District discussed a new policy related to “Transgender and Gender Diverse Students.” The policy covers many topics including the use of pronouns, preferred bathrooms, diversity training for staff, and more. The policy starts off by listing various definitions for phrases such as “Biological Sex”, “Gender Diverse”, and various other gender identity terms:

The guidelines advise teachers and staff to avoid telling parents their children’s gender identity or pronoun usage unless required to by law and when talking to parents “school personnel’s focus should be specifically school related and not on the student’s gender identity or expression.”

The proposal includes a section mandating the incorporation of “positive information” about transgender identity and gender diversity in the curriculum and making sure information about it is accessible on school computers:

Alongside further diversity training for staff, the proposal also encourages staff to consider bullying of transgender students as sexual harassment and investigate students accordingly:

The full proposal can be read below: