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New Mexico School Districts' Secret Transgender Policies Spark Controversy

Person holding sign encouraging use of gender pronouns. (Credit: Unsplash/Alexander Grey.)

In yet another not-so-shocking revelation, seven New Mexico school districts have reportedly been helping students suffering from gender dysphoria “transition” their gender identities behind their parents’ backs. 

Parental rights advocacy group Parents Defending Education (PDE) uncovered the policy through a public records request which brought to light documents detailing how teachers and members of school staff are instructed to help facilitate these “social transitions” that involve altering the child’s name, pronouns, and gender identity without informing parents.

The policy explicitly instructs teachers to conceal a child’s gender identity from parents and others.

'Do NOT share the student's transgender status with anyone else,' says the internal guide.

'This is HIGHLY confidential information.'

Parents do not need to be informed about a trans child unless a 'student wishes to change their name and/or gender marker' in the school's database, the policy states.

Likewise, Moriarty-Edgewood School District's eight institutions in Torrance County guide teachers on handling trans and non-binary students.

Teachers must find out if students 'feel safe' and whether their 'parents know' about their sex change.

Erika Sanzi, PDE’s Director of Outreach, slammed the policies. “Any time a school participates in or facilitates a student’s transition, they are engaging in a psychosocial intervention that requires parental notification and consent,” she said. “Federal law guarantees parents the right to view every record maintained by the district, and that includes gender support plans.”

On the other hand, transgender activists contend that these policies are essential for protecting trans-identified students.

Of course, this is not even close to being an isolated matter. Across the country, in both blue and red states, school districts are adopting similar policies, which are a clear violation of parental rights.

This has happened in several states, such as California, Virginia, and even Florida. This trend has been widely opposed, with parents showing up to school board and city council meetings to protest against the effort to trans children.

AB 1955, also known as the “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth Act," is supposedly aimed at preventing the “forced outing” of a child to their parents.

The bill, if passed, would bar school employees and contractors from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity to anyone without the student’s consent unless it is required by law. Schools would not be allowed to enforce any policy mandating this information to be disclosed.

An employee or a contractor of a school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school for the blind or the deaf shall not be required to disclose any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent unless otherwise required by state or federal law.

The bill further states that “[p]olicies that forcibly ‘out’ pupils without their consent remove opportunities for LGBTQ+ young people and their families to build trust and have these conversations when they are ready.

The policies themselves are already disturbing. But the secrecy with which this is being handled is downright insidious. The districts are blatantly trying to trans children without their parents knowing. It is hard to argue that this is about the welfare of the child at this point. This is about pushing an agenda, parental rights be damned. The lack of transparency is a clear indication that these people are intent on indoctrinating children into progressive gender ideology.

It is increasingly clear that, no matter where they live, parents cannot assume that their schools aren't engaging in this conduct. Over recent years, there have been plenty of reports exposing these policies. It is clear that the battle lines were drawn quite some time ago, and those who want to protect children have quite a fight on their hands.

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