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Parents of trans kids have a right to know

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Northern Star Girl:
      Parents of trans kids have a right to know

                                 The Dallas Morning News
 https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/01/26/parents-of-trans-kids-have-a-right-to-know/

By Dallas Morning News Editorial
2:00 AM on Jan 26, 2023 CST

EXCERPTS Below:  (Click NEWS Link above to view entire story)
Schools across the country, including here in North Texas, are wrong to hide students’ gender identities from parents.

A New York Times investigation published Sunday found dozens of cases in which schools facilitated social transitioning for transgender students without telling the parents or legal guardians. Social transition involves the use of names, pronouns and dress that align with a person’s gender identity.

Since 2020, parents have filed at least 11 lawsuits against school districts for this, from California to Wisconsin, The Times reported. The lawsuits allege that withholding this information is a violation of parental rights.

It is not abuse for parents to decide to call a child by the name they gave her, or use pronouns that align with her biological sex.

The issue of parental communication is just common sense: Parents have the right to know everything the school knows about their child, from grades to health.

We asked Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde about this Tuesday. She explained the district’s practice this way: “We must get parental consent for all students under 18. We’re always going to overcommunicate with parents on these issues. We want to avoid any sense that we’re trying to hide something from parents.”

Gertrude:
If kids don't want to tell their parents, I think that's the problem there. There's a communication issue where it's possible the lack of social acceptance leads to kids being secretive. Sure parents should know, but there's a flip side. How do we deal with the consequences when it goes negative? Look at Lealah Alcorn. Unfortunately in states like Texas, kids have no protections against discrimination/bias/emotional abuse with regards to gender identity.

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