MCPS in National News

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if a teacher finds out that a 14 yr old is pregnant by another 14 yr old, should they not tell the parents because they fear that the parent might be abusive to the teen?

Teachers should not be put in a position to be hiding information from parents about their child. If they suspect abuse, then call it in. Otherwise, the teacher is deciding what information the parent should/should not know about their own child, and that is outside a teacher's scope, not to mention how wrong that is.

How would a parent who is a teacher like it if another teacher felt they should withhold some info about their own child?

If a teacher thinks I’m harming my child, even emotionally, for using a different name in school, I hope to God they keep that info from me. Someone should protect my child if I’m that evil.

How would they know if you are evil if they never speak to you? Take the kids word at face value?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I am not clicking on Fox News links for a "voice of reason" but nice try

LOL ! I agree with psychologist in this case. For a transition such as this, parents should be involved- the youth need support. To assume the parents will be bigoted and not supportive is ...wild.

If FOX news is for that it has to be pure evil.

The students ask us not to tell. I figure they hear their parents and dare not share that part of themselves.

And we’re talking about part-time social transitioning. No teacher is giving hormone injections or performing top surgery during their planning periods. Not to be little the positive effects of social transition on trans youth’s mental health, but teachers have called students by a preferred name rather than a legal name for decades, if not centuries. Even when the student changes the nickname two or three times in the school year (start the year as Beth and end as Liz, for example). We are used to it. We’re also accustomed to not batting an eye over the outfits they change into at school. Only pronouns are new and most of us don’t care what pronoun your kid uses. There’s no study showing it harms academic performance or mental health to use a preferred pronoun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if a teacher finds out that a 14 yr old is pregnant by another 14 yr old, should they not tell the parents because they fear that the parent might be abusive to the teen?

Teachers should not be put in a position to be hiding information from parents about their child. If they suspect abuse, then call it in. Otherwise, the teacher is deciding what information the parent should/should not know about their own child, and that is outside a teacher's scope, not to mention how wrong that is.

How would a parent who is a teacher like it if another teacher felt they should withhold some info about their own child?

If a teacher thinks I’m harming my child, even emotionally, for using a different name in school, I hope to God they keep that info from me. Someone should protect my child if I’m that evil.

How would they know if you are evil if they never speak to you? Take the kids word at face value?

Why not? Parents take kids words about teachers at face value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I am not clicking on Fox News links for a "voice of reason" but nice try

LOL ! I agree with psychologist in this case. For a transition such as this, parents should be involved- the youth need support. To assume the parents will be bigoted and not supportive is ...wild.

If FOX news is for that it has to be pure evil.

The students ask us not to tell. I figure they hear their parents and dare not share that part of themselves.

And we’re talking about part-time social transitioning. No teacher is giving hormone injections or performing top surgery during their planning periods. Not to be little the positive effects of social transition on trans youth’s mental health, but teachers have called students by a preferred name rather than a legal name for decades, if not centuries. Even when the student changes the nickname two or three times in the school year (start the year as Beth and end as Liz, for example). We are used to it. We’re also accustomed to not batting an eye over the outfits they change into at school. Only pronouns are new and most of us don’t care what pronoun your kid uses. There’s no study showing it harms academic performance or mental health to use a preferred pronoun.

Yes, but in my 20 years of teaching I was never penalized for accidentally calling Bobby “Bob” when communicating with parents. Vice versa, parents have always been understanding when I’ve taught “Bobby” for 3 years before he decides to be called “Bob”. Trans families and students can be a lot more aggressive when teachers make mistakes. We have a lot of things to think about all at once and using the wrong pronoun or name is not a personal assault against your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I am not clicking on Fox News links for a "voice of reason" but nice try

LOL ! I agree with psychologist in this case. For a transition such as this, parents should be involved- the youth need support. To assume the parents will be bigoted and not supportive is ...wild.

If FOX news is for that it has to be pure evil.

The students ask us not to tell. I figure they hear their parents and dare not share that part of themselves.

And we’re talking about part-time social transitioning. No teacher is giving hormone injections or performing top surgery during their planning periods. Not to be little the positive effects of social transition on trans youth’s mental health, but teachers have called students by a preferred name rather than a legal name for decades, if not centuries. Even when the student changes the nickname two or three times in the school year (start the year as Beth and end as Liz, for example). We are used to it. We’re also accustomed to not batting an eye over the outfits they change into at school. Only pronouns are new and most of us don’t care what pronoun your kid uses. There’s no study showing it harms academic performance or mental health to use a preferred pronoun.

Yes, but in my 20 years of teaching I was never penalized for accidentally calling Bobby “Bob” when communicating with parents. Vice versa, parents have always been understanding when I’ve taught “Bobby” for 3 years before he decides to be called “Bob”. Trans families and students can be a lot more aggressive when teachers make mistakes. We have a lot of things to think about all at once and using the wrong pronoun or name is not a personal assault against your kid.

Who gets more upset - parents who support social transition and get mad when you make a mistake, or parents who don’t support social transition and get mad when you do use the child’s preferred name? (Sounds like a no-win situation, especially with the number of HS students each teacher has!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if a teacher finds out that a 14 yr old is pregnant by another 14 yr old, should they not tell the parents because they fear that the parent might be abusive to the teen?

Teachers should not be put in a position to be hiding information from parents about their child. If they suspect abuse, then call it in. Otherwise, the teacher is deciding what information the parent should/should not know about their own child, and that is outside a teacher's scope, not to mention how wrong that is.

How would a parent who is a teacher like it if another teacher felt they should withhold some info about their own child?

Not a teacher, but if I learned that my kid was out at school and not at home, I would

1) Actively seek to improve my relationship with my child so they would trust me enough to share with me first in the future.

2) Be grateful that my child had one or more trusted adults outside the family they knew they could go to for support.

and you would be totally fine if the teacher never tells you that your DD is pregnant?

I don’t know why we’re equating pregnancy and social transition, but in MD my underage child has the right to seek pregnancy related care without parental permission. If she chose not to come to us first, I would consider that a pretty big parenting failure on our part, not a failure on the part of the adult she does go to. (Unless that adult is the father. But that’s not what we’re really talking about.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I am not clicking on Fox News links for a "voice of reason" but nice try

LOL ! I agree with psychologist in this case. For a transition such as this, parents should be involved- the youth need support. To assume the parents will be bigoted and not supportive is ...wild.

This happened to a friend of mine. Child changed pronouns at school and they were not informed. They are completely supportive but their son has many other things going on and they want to understand the root of the issues before going all in on a transition to female for an 11 year old. I think that parents need to know unless there is reason to believe that the child is in an unsafe situation.

If a child is in an unsafe situation, it should be reported to CPS. Teachers should not make that judgment call as they are not trained or qualified and with serious mental health issues, could put the child in greater danger, especially if they are suicidal. These kids need mental health and other supports that MCPS and teachers are not qualified.

Your first and second sentences are contradictory. On the one hand you say that teachers should report dangerous situations to CPS but on the other you say they are not qualified to make such judgements. MCPS rules don't require teachers to make any judgements. They use the pronouns that a student desires and don't have responsibility for informing parents. How would school personnel even know which families would be supportive and which wouldn't? Students can inform their families themselves if they believe they will be supported.

If a child is exploring gender identity, their parent should be informed/involved, period. Leaving a parent out of the equation is deceptive. This is not something we want to be encouraging children to do. I liked the analogy that a teacher wouldn't hide a bad grade from a parent who might be abusive about it. The same should hold true (and even more so) for a child's journey of gender exploration.

So, if I find out a girl is wearing skirt I should inform the parent of their child's identity?

If a student wants to be called Joey instead of Joseph, I should call the parents?

If a boy is bragging about banging chicks or getting a BJ, I should call the parent?

If a student who is getting straight A's tells me they have not intention of going to college even though their parents think they are Ivy material, I should call the parents?

Why is it only one group of people you want teachers to stalk and report?

Honey, if you are such a terrible parent that you don't know these things the problem is the parent not the teachers.

The ones with a much higher risk of mental illness, substance abuse and suicide.

[Anonymous]

MCPS's policy is a violation of FERPA, which ensures that parents have the right to information up to age 18. So parents should ASK. Make this a part of your parent-teacher conference. If a teacher lies to you about your child, then sue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS's policy is a violation of FERPA, which ensures that parents have the right to information up to age 18. So parents should ASK. Make this a part of your parent-teacher conference. If a teacher lies to you about your child, then sue.

A parent cannot sue for a FERPA violation even if this were one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS's policy is a violation of FERPA, which ensures that parents have the right to information up to age 18. So parents should ASK. Make this a part of your parent-teacher conference. If a teacher lies to you about your child, then sue.

A parent cannot sue for a FERPA violation even if this were one.

They can sue if there is an outcome that is harmful to the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if a teacher finds out that a 14 yr old is pregnant by another 14 yr old, should they not tell the parents because they fear that the parent might be abusive to the teen?

Teachers should not be put in a position to be hiding information from parents about their child. If they suspect abuse, then call it in. Otherwise, the teacher is deciding what information the parent should/should not know about their own child, and that is outside a teacher's scope, not to mention how wrong that is.

How would a parent who is a teacher like it if another teacher felt they should withhold some info about their own child?

If a teacher thinks I’m harming my child, even emotionally, for using a different name in school, I hope to God they keep that info from me. Someone should protect my child if I’m that evil.

once again if the teacher suspects you are evil and abusing your child then they should call cps.

[Anonymous]

I think the policy is well intended but misguided and believe that it will be overturned on appeal.

Does MCPS have an affirmative obligation to inform parents? No. Can they intentionally withhold such information or in effect lie to parents if asked? I would say also no. The slippery slope arguments are very valid here, which takes me to my concern.

The policy seeks to reveal something that many have long suspected, that MCPS has a culture that by default is un-transparent (no pun intended) about a lot of things. It’s easy to see how they would think to adopt this policy if they were already applying intentional non-disclosure to parents as either de jure or de facto policy in other important areas as it relates to their kids education. This is what really worries me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS's policy is a violation of FERPA, which ensures that parents have the right to information up to age 18. So parents should ASK. Make this a part of your parent-teacher conference. If a teacher lies to you about your child, then sue.

A parent cannot sue for a FERPA violation even if this were one.

They can sue if there is an outcome that is harmful to the child.

Not under FERPA they can't. FERPA can be enforced by the Department of Education, and parents can file a complaint with the Student Privacy Policy Office that might result in some enforcement action by the Secretary of Education, but parents have no private right of action under FERPA (Gonzaga University v. Doe, if you're curious for the citation).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I am not clicking on Fox News links for a "voice of reason" but nice try

LOL ! I agree with psychologist in this case. For a transition such as this, parents should be involved- the youth need support. To assume the parents will be bigoted and not supportive is ...wild.

If FOX news is for that it has to be pure evil.

The students ask us not to tell. I figure they hear their parents and dare not share that part of themselves.

And we’re talking about part-time social transitioning. No teacher is giving hormone injections or performing top surgery during their planning periods. Not to be little the positive effects of social transition on trans youth’s mental health, but teachers have called students by a preferred name rather than a legal name for decades, if not centuries. Even when the student changes the nickname two or three times in the school year (start the year as Beth and end as Liz, for example). We are used to it. We’re also accustomed to not batting an eye over the outfits they change into at school. Only pronouns are new and most of us don’t care what pronoun your kid uses. There’s no study showing it harms academic performance or mental health to use a preferred pronoun.

Yes, but in my 20 years of teaching I was never penalized for accidentally calling Bobby “Bob” when communicating with parents. Vice versa, parents have always been understanding when I’ve taught “Bobby” for 3 years before he decides to be called “Bob”. Trans families and students can be a lot more aggressive when teachers make mistakes. We have a lot of things to think about all at once and using the wrong pronoun or name is not a personal assault against your kid.

I've had lots of teachers change my child's name to a nickname they don't associate with. So, yes, I have an issue with it and so does my child but we'd never say anything. However, when my child doesn't respond, don't call or email me complaining.

My kid doesn't want to be asked their pronoun all the time. Its a waste of class time and getting a bit much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if a teacher finds out that a 14 yr old is pregnant by another 14 yr old, should they not tell the parents because they fear that the parent might be abusive to the teen?

Teachers should not be put in a position to be hiding information from parents about their child. If they suspect abuse, then call it in. Otherwise, the teacher is deciding what information the parent should/should not know about their own child, and that is outside a teacher's scope, not to mention how wrong that is.

How would a parent who is a teacher like it if another teacher felt they should withhold some info about their own child?

Not a teacher, but if I learned that my kid was out at school and not at home, I would

1) Actively seek to improve my relationship with my child so they would trust me enough to share with me first in the future.

2) Be grateful that my child had one or more trusted adults outside the family they knew they could go to for support.

and you would be totally fine if the teacher never tells you that your DD is pregnant?

I don’t know why we’re equating pregnancy and social transition, but in MD my underage child has the right to seek pregnancy related care without parental permission. If she chose not to come to us first, I would consider that a pretty big parenting failure on our part, not a failure on the part of the adult she does go to. (Unless that adult is the father. But that’s not what we’re really talking about.)

because it's about a child's health, mental as well as physical.

A child can seek pregnancy care without the parent, but that's not the same as MCPS purposefully withholding information about a child from their parents.

One is a child withholding the information; the other is the school district doing so.

On the one hand, teachers and schools expect the parents to take care of their children, make sure they are ready for school, blah blah blah.

OTH, MCPS thinks it's a good idea for the schools to withhold certain information from the parents.

It's like they want parents to parent blindfolded, and then blame the parents when the child has issues.