The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island advised a school board that it has a “legal obligation” to keep student’s gender transitions a secret, according to a Monday letter.
The ACLU of Rhode Island warned the Smithfield School Committee, despite it being on the board’s meeting agenda, not to revisit the district’s “Transgender, Gender Non[con]forming, and Transitioning Students Policy,” which does not require educators to notify parents if a student has changed genders at school, according to a letter. The letter notes that several courts have found that a student’s right to privacy is above a parent’s right to the upbringing of their child, “specifically in the context of gender identity.”
“We believe that the Smithfield School Department has a legal obligation to maintain the privacy and safety of its students, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning,” the letter stated. “In addition, strong policy considerations dictate against violating the wishes of students who seek to keep their gender identity private. We urge you to retain RIDE’s [Rhode Island Department of Education] well-considered policy and avoid harming the students in your school with a policy that fails to abide by those guidelines. Thank you in advance for considering our views.”
The letter cites the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which protects the privacy of student’s education records. The National Association of Secondary School Principals has noted that disclosing a student’s gender identity to parents could result in a violation of FERPA, the letter said.
The Rhode Island Department of Education guidance suggests that schools are not required to notify parents of their child’s gender transition and students who do not want their parents to know will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, the letter stated. Smithfield’s policy is in accordance with the government guidance, the ACLU Rhode Island wrote in the letter.
In April, the school committee weighed changing the policy to require teachers to notify parents if their child has changed their gender identity, according to Uprise Rhode Island. The school committee also discussed requiring bathrooms to be used on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity.
“In addition to these policy reasons for respecting a student’s right to keep their gender identity confidential, it is critical to emphasize that students maintain an independent constitutional right to privacy with respect to information about their sexual orientation or gender identity, and it violates that right to disclose that information without consent, even to a student’s parents or other school administrators,” the letter stated.
The ACLU of Rhode Island and the Smithfield School Committee did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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