In a second action in the last month related to gender identity, the Lynden School Board updated its gender inclusive schools policy and procedures on Thursday, Sept. 19.
The revisions state the district will generally not withhold a student’s gender identity from parents or guardians. The new procedures also state that teachers and school staff should not require students to disclose their preferred pronouns but invite them to privately inform them of their name and pronoun preferences.
Board Chair Tonya Hickman said the updates to the procedures directly express “parental rights.” Board members said they didn’t like the fact that they needed this policy at all — state law requires a gender inclusive schools policy.
“I wish we could just remove it,” board member Ken Owsley said. “Unfortunately, we can’t. But I think the most egregious part of it was the language that essentially required the district to lie to parents. I think this updated policy removes that.”
The updated procedures acknowledge that in some situations, students are afraid of their parents finding out about their gender identity and that reality should “not automatically be discounted.” But a student’s preferences are not the “sole factor” the district will consider in these conversations: “If communication with parents/guardians about their student’s transgender or gender expansive status is warranted, school staff generally will not withhold information about the student from the parents/guardians,” except in cases where there’s an investigation or child abuse or neglect, the new procedure reads.
The policy and procedures, first passed in 2019, allow students to use the restroom and locker room that corresponds with their gender identity, as per state law, and encourage transgender students to set up a meeting with school administration so they can make a plan to best support them. Those stipulations remain unchanged.
Superintendent David VanderYacht told Cascadia Daily News that the updated procedures intend to avoid putting staff in situations where they’re keeping secrets from parents — all communications on this topic from the district will now come from principals, counselors and administrators.
VanderYacht said Lynden considers “things that are happening at schools” as “educational records” which are protected by Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), not the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), meaning parents have access to those records.
It is a bit of a gray area, VanderYacht admitted. The updated policy deletes a reference to state law that allows students the right to “decide for themselves what medical records will remain confidential, even from their parents.”
VanderYacht said the district has been “successful” in working with families.
“We’ve had transgender students in our schools. All of us have learned a lot on how to operate in ways that are nondiscriminatory, but also safe and welcoming, and so let’s not shy away from using those experiences to revisit some of these procedures,” VanderYacht said.
Other school districts around the state have also adjusted gender inclusive policy procedures. Woodland School District passed very similar updated procedures in May. La Center School District’s updated procedures state that a principal or counselor will contact parents or guardians regarding name or pronoun changes, and that asking students for their pronouns facilitates “gender transitioning.”
A group of La Center educators, parents and students have now filed a complaint to the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction over the policy changes, according to The Columbian.
Board members made two changes to the amended procedures at the Sept. 19 meeting: They removed a sentence that said referring to a student’s name or pronouns whose parents are not supportive of their gender identity could be “dangerous.”
The board members also deleted a sentence that said teachers could “privately seek clarification” from students on their pronouns, instead instructing teachers to “invite students to privately inform them of their preferences.”
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
