Montgomery County MD Schools- A Horrific Nightmare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of parent would not know their 6 year old is transitioning? One who never goes to a class party or field trip, never attends after school events, never goes to the bus stop, never hosts play dates and never talks to the parents or their kid’s friends, and never really talks to their own child, I guess. If such a parent exists, I wouldn’t tell them anything about their poor kid either. This is just such a stupid non issue.

What kind of parent? What about a single parent who has to work nights and weekends to feed their children.

I'm a single parent who works nights and weekends. I know my child is trans because they talk to me, and because I read school correspondence where their name and gender Identity are clearly stated.

Stop using moms like me as your hypotheticals. We are real people and we're fully caught up with our kids.

The Guidelines state that the school may intentionally cover up the child's gender identity in correspondence to you, so you don't learn about the transition. Are you comfortable with that?

I am, because despite being the utter horror show of a parent that you like to use as your hypothetical -- a single parent who works weekends and evenings -- I'm involved with my child and they speak with me about their experiences and identity.

If they felt like I wasn't a safe person to have that conversation with, that's a problem with my parenting, not a problem with the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The schools must be accountable to the parents.

This parent wants the schools to be accountable to the parents by putting the best interests of the child first. Children are not the property of their parents.

Weird how this whole "parents' rights" thing is only about the rights of some parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on being the kind of parent whose kids feels safe disclosing that they’re questioning their gender or sexual identity and you’ll never have to worry that MCPS is hiding information from you.

NP here. I agree with what you said, but are you holding the same ooinion about not telling parents if a child is failing? Cheated on a major test? Is bullying other students? Hit a teacher? There are many parents who would react in an extremely negative manner if they knew about the kinds of behaviors I mentioned. Where do you draw the line?

You're comparing gender identity to failing in class, cheating on a major test, bullying students, and hitting a teacher. Stop doing that.

PP here. I'm really not trying to make them comparable. I'm just referring to the rationale that parents might harm their children if they were told. Is that the only reason parents aren't being told?

Except it's objectively bad to fail, to cheat, to bully, to hit. Those are things your kids would get in trouble for or at least get a bad report card about. It's not objectively bad to transition or to be gay.

What about being sexually assaulted by a teacher or another student? It's not something your kid would get in trouble for or get a bad report card for, but the school should tell you about it.

What about collapsing in the bathroom while drunk or high? Totally legal under Maryland law, but you would still want to know as a parent.

You're comparing gender identity to being the victim of sexual assault (a crime) and collapsing from an OD (a medical emergency). Stop doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of parent would not know their 6 year old is transitioning? One who never goes to a class party or field trip, never attends after school events, never goes to the bus stop, never hosts play dates and never talks to the parents or their kid’s friends, and never really talks to their own child, I guess. If such a parent exists, I wouldn’t tell them anything about their poor kid either. This is just such a stupid non issue.

What kind of parent? What about a single parent who has to work nights and weekends to feed their children.

I'm a single parent who works nights and weekends. I know my child is trans because they talk to me, and because I read school correspondence where their name and gender Identity are clearly stated.

Stop using moms like me as your hypotheticals. We are real people and we're fully caught up with our kids.

The Guidelines state that the school may intentionally cover up the child's gender identity in correspondence to you, so you don't learn about the transition. Are you comfortable with that?

I am, because despite being the utter horror show of a parent that you like to use as your hypothetical -- a single parent who works weekends and evenings -- I'm involved with my child and they speak with me about their experiences and identity.

If they felt like I wasn't a safe person to have that conversation with, that's a problem with my parenting, not a problem with the school.

And the school should be able to make a determination about whether you are a "good" or "bad" parent and be able to lie to you if they think you're bad? The Guidelines allow lying to parents if they think they won't provide "enough support" for their six year old's gender transition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of parent would not know their 6 year old is transitioning? One who never goes to a class party or field trip, never attends after school events, never goes to the bus stop, never hosts play dates and never talks to the parents or their kid’s friends, and never really talks to their own child, I guess. If such a parent exists, I wouldn’t tell them anything about their poor kid either. This is just such a stupid non issue.

What kind of parent? What about a single parent who has to work nights and weekends to feed their children.

I'm a single parent who works nights and weekends. I know my child is trans because they talk to me, and because I read school correspondence where their name and gender Identity are clearly stated.

Stop using moms like me as your hypotheticals. We are real people and we're fully caught up with our kids.

The Guidelines state that the school may intentionally cover up the child's gender identity in correspondence to you, so you don't learn about the transition. Are you comfortable with that?

I am, because despite being the utter horror show of a parent that you like to use as your hypothetical -- a single parent who works weekends and evenings -- I'm involved with my child and they speak with me about their experiences and identity.

If they felt like I wasn't a safe person to have that conversation with, that's a problem with my parenting, not a problem with the school.

And the school should be able to make a determination about whether you are a "good" or "bad" parent and be able to lie to you if they think you're bad? The Guidelines allow lying to parents if they think they won't provide "enough support" for their six year old's gender transition.

The school isn't really making the decision. My child is being asked whether I am a safe person to come out to. Again, if I haven't made it clear to my child that I am a safe person to talk to about their identity, that's a problem with me.

Also, you keep using the word transition as though the school district is handing out radical hysterectomies in the health room. At the absolute most, we are talking about using a nickname in classroom environments. Even if my child were wrong and I was not a safe person, nothing is lost through them being able to choose their name while in a school setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The schools must be accountable to the parents.

This parent wants the schools to be accountable to the parents by putting the best interests of the child first. Children are not the property of their parents.

Weird how this whole "parents' rights" thing is only about the rights of some parents.

No, it's about the right of every parent to receive accurate information about their own children and not be lied to.

And no one has a "right" to determine what is best for your child but you. This logic would allow the state or another adult- perhaps one with bad or perverted motives- to insinuate themselves into the life of your vulnerable young children and direct them for their own purposes. Many grooming/sexual assault relationships begin with children confiding in a grown-up about problems with their parents and escalates over time.

Also, note the responses vary from: "a six year old could not possibly transition without their parents" to "stop telling six year olds they can't transition, you bigot." Both cannot simultaneously be true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of parent would not know their 6 year old is transitioning? One who never goes to a class party or field trip, never attends after school events, never goes to the bus stop, never hosts play dates and never talks to the parents or their kid’s friends, and never really talks to their own child, I guess. If such a parent exists, I wouldn’t tell them anything about their poor kid either. This is just such a stupid non issue.

What kind of parent? What about a single parent who has to work nights and weekends to feed their children.

I'm a single parent who works nights and weekends. I know my child is trans because they talk to me, and because I read school correspondence where their name and gender Identity are clearly stated.

Stop using moms like me as your hypotheticals. We are real people and we're fully caught up with our kids.

The Guidelines state that the school may intentionally cover up the child's gender identity in correspondence to you, so you don't learn about the transition. Are you comfortable with that?

I am, because despite being the utter horror show of a parent that you like to use as your hypothetical -- a single parent who works weekends and evenings -- I'm involved with my child and they speak with me about their experiences and identity.

If they felt like I wasn't a safe person to have that conversation with, that's a problem with my parenting, not a problem with the school.

And the school should be able to make a determination about whether you are a "good" or "bad" parent and be able to lie to you if they think you're bad? The Guidelines allow lying to parents if they think they won't provide "enough support" for their six year old's gender transition.

I, too, can think up absurd hypotheticals and then try to incite panic and hatred about them! Only I don't, because I try to be a responsible person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The schools must be accountable to the parents.

This parent wants the schools to be accountable to the parents by putting the best interests of the child first. Children are not the property of their parents.

Weird how this whole "parents' rights" thing is only about the rights of some parents.

No, it's about the right of every parent to receive accurate information about their own children and not be lied to.

And no one has a "right" to determine what is best for your child but you. This logic would allow the state or another adult- perhaps one with bad or perverted motives- to insinuate themselves into the life of your vulnerable young children and direct them for their own purposes. Many grooming/sexual assault relationships begin with children confiding in a grown-up about problems with their parents and escalates over time.

Also, note the responses vary from: "a six year old could not possibly transition without their parents" to "stop telling six year olds they can't transition, you bigot." Both cannot simultaneously be true.

I think you excluded someone from that sentence. I wonder who it could be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of parent would not know their 6 year old is transitioning? One who never goes to a class party or field trip, never attends after school events, never goes to the bus stop, never hosts play dates and never talks to the parents or their kid’s friends, and never really talks to their own child, I guess. If such a parent exists, I wouldn’t tell them anything about their poor kid either. This is just such a stupid non issue.

What kind of parent? What about a single parent who has to work nights and weekends to feed their children.

I'm a single parent who works nights and weekends. I know my child is trans because they talk to me, and because I read school correspondence where their name and gender Identity are clearly stated.

Stop using moms like me as your hypotheticals. We are real people and we're fully caught up with our kids.

The Guidelines state that the school may intentionally cover up the child's gender identity in correspondence to you, so you don't learn about the transition. Are you comfortable with that?

I am, because despite being the utter horror show of a parent that you like to use as your hypothetical -- a single parent who works weekends and evenings -- I'm involved with my child and they speak with me about their experiences and identity.

If they felt like I wasn't a safe person to have that conversation with, that's a problem with my parenting, not a problem with the school.

And the school should be able to make a determination about whether you are a "good" or "bad" parent and be able to lie to you if they think you're bad? The Guidelines allow lying to parents if they think they won't provide "enough support" for their six year old's gender transition.

The school isn't really making the decision. My child is being asked whether I am a safe person to come out to. Again, if I haven't made it clear to my child that I am a safe person to talk to about their identity, that's a problem with me.

Also, you keep using the word transition as though the school district is handing out radical hysterectomies in the health room. At the absolute most, we are talking about using a nickname in classroom environments. Even if my child were wrong and I was not a safe person, nothing is lost through them being able to choose their name while in a school setting.

No, we are talking about comprehensive gender transition plans that includes changing school records, informing staff and students, and allowing children access to bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, sleeping arrangements, classes, sports- the whole nine yards.

An adult- a government employee- is given sweeping powers to interfere with your own relationship with your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of parent would not know their 6 year old is transitioning? One who never goes to a class party or field trip, never attends after school events, never goes to the bus stop, never hosts play dates and never talks to the parents or their kid’s friends, and never really talks to their own child, I guess. If such a parent exists, I wouldn’t tell them anything about their poor kid either. This is just such a stupid non issue.

What kind of parent? What about a single parent who has to work nights and weekends to feed their children.

I'm a single parent who works nights and weekends. I know my child is trans because they talk to me, and because I read school correspondence where their name and gender Identity are clearly stated.

Stop using moms like me as your hypotheticals. We are real people and we're fully caught up with our kids.

The Guidelines state that the school may intentionally cover up the child's gender identity in correspondence to you, so you don't learn about the transition. Are you comfortable with that?

I am, because despite being the utter horror show of a parent that you like to use as your hypothetical -- a single parent who works weekends and evenings -- I'm involved with my child and they speak with me about their experiences and identity.

If they felt like I wasn't a safe person to have that conversation with, that's a problem with my parenting, not a problem with the school.

And the school should be able to make a determination about whether you are a "good" or "bad" parent and be able to lie to you if they think you're bad? The Guidelines allow lying to parents if they think they won't provide "enough support" for their six year old's gender transition.

I, too, can think up absurd hypotheticals and then try to incite panic and hatred about them! Only I don't, because I try to be a responsible person.

Again, this is a real policy. I didn't make it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of parent would not know their 6 year old is transitioning? One who never goes to a class party or field trip, never attends after school events, never goes to the bus stop, never hosts play dates and never talks to the parents or their kid’s friends, and never really talks to their own child, I guess. If such a parent exists, I wouldn’t tell them anything about their poor kid either. This is just such a stupid non issue.

What kind of parent? What about a single parent who has to work nights and weekends to feed their children.

I'm a single parent who works nights and weekends. I know my child is trans because they talk to me, and because I read school correspondence where their name and gender Identity are clearly stated.

Stop using moms like me as your hypotheticals. We are real people and we're fully caught up with our kids.

The Guidelines state that the school may intentionally cover up the child's gender identity in correspondence to you, so you don't learn about the transition. Are you comfortable with that?

I am, because despite being the utter horror show of a parent that you like to use as your hypothetical -- a single parent who works weekends and evenings -- I'm involved with my child and they speak with me about their experiences and identity.

If they felt like I wasn't a safe person to have that conversation with, that's a problem with my parenting, not a problem with the school.

And the school should be able to make a determination about whether you are a "good" or "bad" parent and be able to lie to you if they think you're bad? The Guidelines allow lying to parents if they think they won't provide "enough support" for their six year old's gender transition.

The school isn't really making the decision. My child is being asked whether I am a safe person to come out to. Again, if I haven't made it clear to my child that I am a safe person to talk to about their identity, that's a problem with me.

Also, you keep using the word transition as though the school district is handing out radical hysterectomies in the health room. At the absolute most, we are talking about using a nickname in classroom environments. Even if my child were wrong and I was not a safe person, nothing is lost through them being able to choose their name while in a school setting.

No, we are talking about comprehensive gender transition plans that includes changing school records, informing staff and students, and allowing children access to bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, sleeping arrangements, classes, sports- the whole nine yards.

An adult- a government employee- is given sweeping powers to interfere with your own relationship with your child.

Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on being the kind of parent whose kids feels safe disclosing that they’re questioning their gender or sexual identity and you’ll never have to worry that MCPS is hiding information from you.

NP here. I agree with what you said, but are you holding the same ooinion about not telling parents if a child is failing? Cheated on a major test? Is bullying other students? Hit a teacher? There are many parents who would react in an extremely negative manner if they knew about the kinds of behaviors I mentioned. Where do you draw the line?

You're comparing gender identity to failing in class, cheating on a major test, bullying students, and hitting a teacher. Stop doing that.

PP here. I'm really not trying to make them comparable. I'm just referring to the rationale that parents might harm their children if they were told. Is that the only reason parents aren't being told?

Except it's objectively bad to fail, to cheat, to bully, to hit. Those are things your kids would get in trouble for or at least get a bad report card about. It's not objectively bad to transition or to be gay.

What about being sexually assaulted by a teacher or another student? It's not something your kid would get in trouble for or get a bad report card for, but the school should tell you about it.

What about collapsing in the bathroom while drunk or high? Totally legal under Maryland law, but you would still want to know as a parent.

You're comparing gender identity to being the victim of sexual assault (a crime) and collapsing from an OD (a medical emergency). Stop doing that.

What if the school has a priest visit, and the priest baptizes children in school without asking the parents' permission first. Would you expect to be told?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Under the Guidelines, a student wishing to develop and implement a transition plan fills out an intake form on which the student is asked to rate the level of parental support the student expects, on a scale from 1 to 10. If the support level is deemed inadequate and the student so desires, the student is assured that the student’s parents will not be told about the development and implementation of the plan. The Guidelines do not indicate that any particular score suffices for a student’s parents to be deemed “unsupportive” but instead direct staff members to make that determination by considering both the information in the form and any other information gathered from consultation with the student. The Guidelines explain the reason for excluding parents as follows:

In some cases, transgender and gender nonconforming students may not openly express their gender identity at home because of safety concerns or lack of acceptance. Matters of gender identity can be complex and may involve familial conflict. Accordingly, the Guidelines explicitly prohibit disclosure of the student’s status “to other students, their parents/guardians, or third persons.”

Moreover, when parents are being excluded from the development and implementation of a transition plan, the Guidelines direct staff to engage in a form of coverup by providing that “[s]chools should seek to minimize the use of permission slips and other school-specific forms that require disclosure of a student’s gender or use gendered terminology” and that “[u]nless the student or parent/guardian has specified otherwise, when contacting the parent/guardian of a transgender student, [Montgomery County] school staff members should use the student’s legal name and pronoun that correspond to the student’s sex assigned at birth.” The transition plans that are developed and implemented under the Guidelines include changing names and pronouns; requiring staff to comply with the use of such names and pronouns; changing school records; giving students the “right to dress in a manner consistent with their gender identity”; providing access to “gender-separated areas,” e.g., “bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms”; providing access to classes and sports, in-school athletics, and clubs in accordance with the student’s new gender identity; promising special arrangements for “outdoor education/overnight field trips,” ncluding sleeping arrangements; and providing safe places and other similar accommodations.

Finally, the Guidelines direct staff to “understand implicit bias, promote diversity awareness, and consider the risk of self-harm or the presence of suicidal ideation.” And they encourage schools “to have age-appropriate student organizations develop and lead programs to address issues of bullying prevention for all students, with emphasis on LGBTQ+ students.”

The Guidelines are not voluntary and instead apply mandatorily to all students in the school system, regardless of age, and all students are thus engaged with staff to help, as the Guidelines state, eliminate bullying, harassment, and discrimination based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

The culture of accountability to parents and not activist groups has to start here, with the basic question of whether the school may facilitate the student's gender transition. The schools must be accountable to the parents.

The OP did not bother to provide a source for this. But, for those interested, it is an excerpt from a lawsuit filed against MCPS that was dismissed due to lack of standing. The poster may well have had some assistance from ChatGPT or the like.

At any rate, OP, you started this thread with a long list of links to various crimes but now appear to be singularly fixated on transgender issues. What is your real concern here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on being the kind of parent whose kids feels safe disclosing that they’re questioning their gender or sexual identity and you’ll never have to worry that MCPS is hiding information from you.

NP here. I agree with what you said, but are you holding the same ooinion about not telling parents if a child is failing? Cheated on a major test? Is bullying other students? Hit a teacher? There are many parents who would react in an extremely negative manner if they knew about the kinds of behaviors I mentioned. Where do you draw the line?

You're comparing gender identity to failing in class, cheating on a major test, bullying students, and hitting a teacher. Stop doing that.

PP here. I'm really not trying to make them comparable. I'm just referring to the rationale that parents might harm their children if they were told. Is that the only reason parents aren't being told?

Except it's objectively bad to fail, to cheat, to bully, to hit. Those are things your kids would get in trouble for or at least get a bad report card about. It's not objectively bad to transition or to be gay.

What about being sexually assaulted by a teacher or another student? It's not something your kid would get in trouble for or get a bad report card for, but the school should tell you about it.

What about collapsing in the bathroom while drunk or high? Totally legal under Maryland law, but you would still want to know as a parent.

I guess I should have included more examples. It's objectively bad to be sexually assaulted. It's objectively bad to collapse at school while drunk or high. It's not objectively bad to be gay or be transitioning.

Let me know if you need more examples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Focus on being the kind of parent whose kids feels safe disclosing that they’re questioning their gender or sexual identity and you’ll never have to worry that MCPS is hiding information from you.

NP here. I agree with what you said, but are you holding the same ooinion about not telling parents if a child is failing? Cheated on a major test? Is bullying other students? Hit a teacher? There are many parents who would react in an extremely negative manner if they knew about the kinds of behaviors I mentioned. Where do you draw the line?

You're comparing gender identity to failing in class, cheating on a major test, bullying students, and hitting a teacher. Stop doing that.

PP here. I'm really not trying to make them comparable. I'm just referring to the rationale that parents might harm their children if they were told. Is that the only reason parents aren't being told?

Except it's objectively bad to fail, to cheat, to bully, to hit. Those are things your kids would get in trouble for or at least get a bad report card about. It's not objectively bad to transition or to be gay.

What about being sexually assaulted by a teacher or another student? It's not something your kid would get in trouble for or get a bad report card for, but the school should tell you about it.

What about collapsing in the bathroom while drunk or high? Totally legal under Maryland law, but you would still want to know as a parent.

You're comparing gender identity to being the victim of sexual assault (a crime) and collapsing from an OD (a medical emergency). Stop doing that.

What if the school has a priest visit, and the priest baptizes children in school without asking the parents' permission first. Would you expect to be told?

If a public school had a priest visit to baptize children in school, parental permission would not be my first concern, or my second, or even my tenth.