Illinois 'Values' Group Encourages Bullying And Rejection Of Transgender Students
By Zack Ford on Nov 14, 2012 at 10:54 am
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/11/14/1188571/illinois-hate-group-encourages-bullying-and-rejection-of-transgender-students/?mobile=ncThe Illinois Family Institute (IFI), a designated anti-LGBT "hate group," thought it was successful when it opposed East Aurora School District's transgender-inclusive policy and the district then rescinded the measure. But now that the district has formed a new committee to readdress what would be best for trans students, IFI's Laurie Higgins is livid. Higgins has posted an epic screed against the effort, blatantly attacking trans members of the committee as "two adult cross-dressing males who wish they were women" and encouraging bullying of transgender — what IFI calls "gender-confused" — students.
Before delving into IFI's epic tirade of bigotry, let it be noted here that mental health professionals agree that the best therapy for young people questioning their gender identity is to affirm them, including with social recognition (pronouns, name choice, etc.) and a non-discrimination environment. Gender identity is a separate experience from biological sex, and like sexual orientation, it is not chosen, however biologically invisible it may (yet) be. To not respect an individual's identity is to reject it, and to encourage such rejection is to promote bullying and discrimination. That is exactly IFI's intention. Here are a few excerpts:
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East Aurora High School Troubling "Transgender" Policy Update
Written By Laurie Higgins | 11.13.12
http://illinoisfamily.org/education/east-aurora-high-school-troubling-update/The East Aurora High School Board of Education recently passed a policy that would have permitted gender-confused students to use the restrooms and locker rooms designated for those of the opposite sex (i.e. of the sex that these students wish they were). The policy also mandated that district employees refer to these students using opposite sex pronouns (i.e. of the sex which these students wish they were), and it would have permitted gender-confused students to cross-dress at school without their parents' knowledge or permission.
The policy was rescinded four days later and the district administrator, Christie Aird, who proposed it and apparently misrepresented it to the board was temporarily placed on administrative leave. According to news reports, she implied or stated that the Illinois bullying law passed in 2010 required such a policy change.
Here's what every school district needs to know about the Illinois school bullying law: All it mandates is that schools must have a bullying policy and that they must register their policy with the state every two years. That's it. The Illinois bullying prevention law does not require that schools have any policy whatsoever regarding restroom, locker room, or pronoun use for those who experience gender-confusion.
