Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Transgender Issues? "Don't Tell the Parents." Seriously?


Do parents have the right to know what the school is not telling them?

If a minor student identifies at school as transgender and wants to be addressed by a name of the opposite gender and be referred to by personal pronouns of the gender opposite to the gender at birth, should the school be able to inform the parents?  Or have to inform parents?

A live, virtual, Google Meet/Chat presentation was made to faculty at Ridge View High School yesterday (3/7/2022) by Helen Grant, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Richland 2.

There is apparently no written policy at Richland 2 for dealing with the transgender issue. So what happens when a 15-year-old boy decides he wants to be a girl and heads for the girl's restroom?

Should a teacher stop that kid? What happens if a teacher does stop that kid? When the lawyers for the kid show up, will Richland 2 vigorously defend the teacher? Or will the District throw that teacher under the bus?

There apparently is an unwritten policy that teachers and staff will not inform the parents. Do you agree?

One of the callers to me expressed worries about the high suicide rate among transgender teens. 

If the District (ex., a teacher) knows that a kid is transgender but doesn't inform the parents and the kid dies by suicide, who is out on the end of the tree limb while Administration is standing next to the trunk with the chainsaw?

Should the school board and the superintendent step up and acknowledge their responsibility? Should they develop a clear, written policy that is not ambiguous to the teachers and staff? Should the responsibility be at the top of the food chain?

I submitted a request for a copy of the recording of the meeting at RVHS. Will I get it? That question shouldn't take long to answer.

What if you request it? Will you get it?

Should the recording be on the District's website, in an easily-found spot? And not buried 15 clicks down, way down out of sight? Should parents know what teachers are being told?

Are school counselors the right people to guide a youth with gender-identity questions? Are school counselors highly-trained in narrow mental health fields and qualified to help children understand their sexuality? 

Post your comments and questions below.

Library Use Denied

As many readers know, I am on Trespass Notice from Richland 2 School District and must avoid all school properties. In other words, I'm in Richland 2 Jail.

My sentence is for the remainder of the 2021-2022 School Year, which ends on June 30, 2022.

I cannot enter any school property until 12:01AM on July 1, 2022, under threat of arrest for trespassing.

The Richland Library leases an area of R2i2 for the Sandhills Library. On March 3, 2022 I requested permission (access authorization) to go to the library on March 10th from Marq Claxton, Director of Safety and Security for Richland 2, pursuant to his January 26th Trespass Notice. Claxton denied my request.

Claxton unreasonably denied my use of public, taxpayer-supported library property on March 7, and I have registered a complaint with the School District via Trustee Caution-Parker. I requested an acknowledgement of my complaint from Caution-Parker but have not yet received it. 

According to Board Policy KE, Caution-Parker is required to forward my complaint to Supt. Davis, who must make a decision on my complaint. If his decision is unsatisfactory to me, then I shall make a complaint about his unsatisfactory decision to the Board under Board Policy KE, and the Board must hear my complaint as a grievance at the next Regular Board Meeting or at a special-called board meeting.

Will the board permit me to attend my next grievace and grant me an opportunity to state my case?

The Board did not on February 22, when it supposedly heard my grievance in executive session and then voted in public session, all without hearing from me as the Grievant.