The second-largest school district in Colorado is instructing teachers not to inform parents if their child shows persistent signs of gender confusion.
Jefferson County Public School district (Jeffco) in the nearby Denver area sent out a “Toolkit for Supporting Transgender & Gender Expansive/Nonconforming Students” to teachers. The toolkit included a picture of the “gender unicorn,” which claims that there is a difference between “gender identity,” “gender expression,” “sex assigned at birth,” and whom people are both physically and emotionally attracted to.
www.transstudent.org/gender
One Jeffco parent reached out to The Daily Wire concerned that the school would not inform parents if their child is over the age of 11. According to school guidance, if a child in secondary school uses a different name, gender, or is using different pronouns at school, teachers are not required to inform the parents.
According to the toolkit, elementary school teachers are told to inform parents about persistent gender dysphoria.
“If school staff believe that a gender identity or expression issue is presenting itself and creating difficulty for the child at school, approaching parents/guardians about the issue is appropriate at the elementary level,” the guide reads. “Together the family and school can then identify appropriate steps to support the student.”
The standards shift entirely for students in middle and high school. The guide claims that in some cases notifying a child’s parent can lead to a child being kicked out of the home.
“In some cases, notifying parents/guardians carries risks for the student, such as being kicked out of the home,” the guide reads. “Prior to notification of any parent/guardian or guardian regarding the transition process, school staff should work closely with the student to assess the degree, if any, the parent/guardian will be involved in the process and must consider the health, well-being, and safety of the student in transition.”
The guide also insists that asking girls to wear dresses and men to wear ties during a choir concert exacerbated unnecessary gender differences.
Suggestions for eliminating gendered roles in choir include identifying students by their voice part instead of by boys and girls. The guide reads, “Do girls really need to wear dresses? Do boys really need to wear ties?”
“Reduce or eliminate the practice of segregating students by gender. In situations where students are segregated by gender, such as for health education classes, students should be included in the group that corresponds to their gender identity,” the guide reads. “In the case of a school activity like say, Girls Chorus, the school should consider regrouping/naming the groups according to voice part (Sopranos & Altos, Tenors & Basses), rather than gender. This may also affect something like the choir dress code and how we might create a more inclusive space for multiple gender expressions.”
Other guidance includes allowing a transgender student to use the restroom and locker room that “corresponds with the student’s gender identity consistently asserted at school.” Transgender students will also be assigned to share “overnight accommodations with other students that share the student’s gender identity consistently asserted at school” and play in sports that match his or her gender identity.
Jefferson County Public Schools did not respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment.