After North Dakota passed legislation protecting children from gender ideology in the classroom by barring schools from hiding the so-called “gender identities” of students from their parents, a school district in Fargo has announced that it will continue to keep secrets from parents.
Earlier this month, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) signed a bill that prohibited schools from withholding or concealing “information about a student’s transgender status from the student’s parent or legal guardian.”
North Dakota Governor signs new bill requiring teachers to inform parents if their child is transgender.
Gov. Doug Burgum [R] signed House Bill 1522 earlier today and it will go into effect immediately.
Included in the bill is a ban on K12 trans students from using bathrooms… pic.twitter.com/1kt4AYBFKf
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 8, 2023
Fargo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Rupak Gandhi attempted to justify the schools violating the law by claiming that they are protecting children from harm — suggesting that parents will somehow hurt their children if they are made aware of the situation while ignoring the real-life harm done by pushing gender ideology on vulnerable and impressionable children.
“We will not openly out any student because of one law if we know that that’s going to cause harm to that child,” said Gandhi, who is backed in the decision by the school board.
During a school board meeting about the decision, parents stepped up to call out the school district for essentially saying that school officials and teachers have more rights when it comes to their children than their actual parents do.
“The way I see it, the way I heard it is that you want to protect kids from their parents,” one father said. “Instead of encouraging everyone to talk more, you are suppressing talk.”
“What is actually even more concerning about your efforts to break the law is actually the fact that you are facilitating secret-keeping from parents,” another mother said, adding: “Whether or not you agree with the politics of the law, or what is behind it, I really urge you all to pay attention to what we’re setting as a precedent. Whose kids are these? Do they belong to you as a school board? Do they belong to Fargo Public Schools? Or is each child’s parent ultimately the decision-maker in their family over what is allowed and what is safe for that child?”
Mom outraged after North Dakota school board says it won’t comply with state law prohibiting teachers from concealing a student’s gender identity from their parents. pic.twitter.com/ebioqCUn7d
— Crisis in the Classroom (@CITClassroom) May 25, 2023
Critics of the law said that revealing a student’s gender identity to the parents might lead to dangerous confrontations.
Gandhi cited suicide statistics put out by an LGBTQ advocacy group to argue that hiding the gender identities from parents was protecting the students.
“You teach your kids that nobody who asks you to keep a secret is safe,” said another mother at the meeting. “Now, this is going the other way. This is an adult saying that they’ll keep a child’s secret.”
