Wilder School District adopted “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation” policy created by the Idaho School Boards Association

The Wilder School District has a policy in place for students titled “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation” that is dated as adopted on October 12, 2015. The district has the policy filed as number 507. The policy mandates that district staff and teachers keep parents in the dark regarding the gender identity of their children. Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to the district regarding the gender policy and received a response. The district explained to PDE: “The draft policy came from Idaho School Boards Association.”

The school district’s policy uses the ISBA’s template similar to other districts in Idaho. The Wilder School District appears to have been one of the first districts in Idaho to implement the policy. The policy explicitly states that the gender identity of students should be kept a secret from parents. Employees who tell parents about the gender identity of their children can face “possible termination.” The policy states:

School employees should not disclose a student’s transgender status or sexual orientation to other individuals, regardless of setting, including the other school personnel or (in the case of middle school, junior high school, and high school students) the student’s parents/guardians, unless they have a legitimate need to know or unless the student has authorized such disclosure. Action in violation of such student confidentiality may subject an employee to discipline, up to and including possible termination and for certificated personnel, a report to the Professional Standards Commission.