School promises to out transgender kids to their parents

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A school in Texas has promised that it would out transgender kids to their parents in response to claims by the state’s Attorney General.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton earlier this year declared a local school’s trans policy was illegal and has suggested that teachers should out trans kids to their parents.

Ken Paxton, a Republican, made the comments responding to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, in a non-binding opinion.

School promises to out transgender kids to their parents

In the opinion he declared that a policy inclusive of trans students at the Fort Worth Independent School District was in violation of state law, reports the Advocate.

The District’s new policy was adopted on 19 April and simply allows trans students to use gender-appropriate bathrooms.

But since Paxton’s opinion, the District has issue a new, much shorter version of its policy which simply states that the school will work only with trans kids and their parents together to create an individual educational plan.

Text about what to do if a trans student approaches a staff member and the staff member is concerned that they may not be accepted at home if they come out has been removed.

It simply says that on a “case-by-case basis… school administrators, guidance counselors, and educators shall engage with parent(s)/guardian(s) and work collaboratively with them and the student to develop individual support plans.”

And guidance on bathroom issues has also been removed, instead, it is replaced with support plans, as opposed to guidance on respecting the trans student’s identity.

The federal government wrote to every school in the US to advise them that they are obliged not to discriminate against trans people.

However, that hasn’t gone down well with hard-right Republicans – with GOP politicians in Oklahoma attempting to impeach Obama.

But Paxton was not the only one to file a lawsuit in federal court against the Obama administration.

Officials in eleven states including Texas were included in the complaint.

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