What is the pronoun policy in Oakwood Schools? Parents, teachers, and students in the community want to know! In previous years, including the 2021-2022 school year, many teachers surveyed children in our schools for their preferred pronouns (see photo above) and even asked whether children’s parents knew of the child’s preference. It is not clear what their intentions were in collecting this data, and there was significant debate in the community as to whether this was appropriate to be asking our kids. Many parents have reported to the Oakwood Community for Strong Schools that inquiries to the administration resulted in more questions than clear answers. This year seemed different, with pronoun surveys largely absent and reports that each school in the district was handling things independently.
All of this begs the question, what is the appropriate policy to protect children’s mental health while also respecting the role of parents as the primary caregivers for their children? In mid-September, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin released model policies that put parents at the forefront of schools’ policies regarding transgender students (https://www.foxnews.com/media/virginia-gov-youngkin-introduces-model-policy-virginia-transgender-students). One of the most important features in Gov Youngkin’s recommendations is that parents are indeed respected in these sensitive situations. It may serve the Oakwood Board of Education and the Administration to consider a similar approach.
There are many considerations for the BOE and the administration to consider. As discussed in our post regarding the SEL program (https://oakwoodstrongschools.com/2022/09/27/oakwood-sel-program-unanswered-questions/), surveying children on mental health issues without explicit consent from parents and also without appropriate personal data protection protocols puts the school district at risk of violating personal privacy and health care regulations such as HIPAA (https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/hipaa.html). There is a growing consensus that the explosion in gender identity and transgender claims may be the result of social contagion that can be exacerbated by unsolicited surveys introducing ideas into young minds. Dr. Lisa Littman has published work on this area of research into Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (https://littmanresearch.com/), and we have posted previously on the work of Abigail Schrier to investigate this phenomenon. Children with mental health issues should be treated with love in a private setting and with trained professionals, and not exposed publicly or labeled in ways that pressure them inappropriately. Parents should be at the forefront of these issues as the primary caregivers, and this should be clearly acknowledged by the school system.
Another consideration is the impact that school policies may have on freedom of speech. Students and teachers should not feel compelled to use “preferred pronouns.” To be forced to use pronouns is a violation of the 1st Amendment and puts the schools at risk for lawsuits. The whole concept of “preferred pronouns” is an ideological belief that gender is a social construct separate from sex. Compelling anyone to declare their pronouns or to utilize self-designated pronouns violates the tenants of the 1st Amendment. An example of an inappropriate policy is found at a 4-H group in Santa Clara, CA. The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism sent a letter explaining the First and Fourteenth Amendment concerns with the policy, as can be found at this link: https://fairforall.substack.com/p/fair-news-7-28-2022. In a case right here in Ohio, a professor at Shawnee State University was recently awarded $400,000 as a settlement following a situation in which he was disciplined for declining to use a student’s preferred pronouns (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/04/21/shawnee-state-professor-settles-case-wont-be-required-to-use-preferred-pronouns/).
The strong protection of the freedom of speech for our teachers and students in Oakwood City Schools will build a culture with true freedom of expression, foster discussion and debate, and develop resilience as our children encounter a variety of ideas. We don’t need a community of activists who claim any dissent is “transphobia” and require compelled speech and preferential treatment in the form of “safe spaces.” We will surely come back to this topic in the months ahead with additional insight from across our country as well as within the Oakwood community.
If you have something to share with our team, please send a note to admin@oakwoodstrongschools.com.
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