Charles F. Patton Middle School in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, has been embroiled in controversy over its approach to protecting LGBTQ+ students’ privacy. In a leaked email sent to teachers, a counselor wrote that specific students’ pronouns should not be shared with their parents.
Another school ? Pennsylvania middle school blasted for conspiring to conceal student’s non-binary status and use ‘they/them’ pronouns from child’s parents.
— Beverly A. Pekala (@PekalaLaw) May 9, 2022
Emails between teachers and staff allegedly confirm the conspiracy.#Parents #schools#Monday https://t.co/SBQ2Iy1PfT
“[The student] prefers the pronouns they/them. ‘She’ is fine too, but [the student] likes ‘they/them’ the best. Hopefully, that makes sense,” the counselor wrote in the email.
“If you are emailing home, it may be best to use she/her when referring to [the student],” they added.
It’s worth noting that the counselor sent a follow-up email that contained two articles, one from UPenn and another from the University of Kansas, that explored information on how educators can support LGBTQ+ students.
Emails show a school counselor in Pennsylvania instructing a teacher to use a student’s pronouns that correspond with their biological gender when communicating with their parents. https://t.co/Xe1HwEHgB3
— WEAR ABC 3 (@weartv) May 7, 2022
Later correspondences showed teachers exploring the possibility of starting a “Gender Sexuality Alliance” at the school based on a similar program at a nearby high school.
Additionally, one educator noted that “It would be wonderful for administrators to know that middle schoolers are NOT too young to know their sexual orientation and gender identities and that LGBTQ-related content is age-appropriate for them.
Once word of the matter began spreading, conservatives were pressed over the teachers conspiring to essentially hide the student’s preference for they/them pronouns from their parents. Many also took issue with an LGBTQ+ club being started at a middle school.
Dr. Elana Fishbein, president of an anti-critical race theory and anti-gender advocacy organization called No Left Turn in Education, slammed the school’s approach during an appearance on Fox & Friends Weekend.
“It is unconscionable for any teacher to go behind a parent’s back to meddle in a child’s mental, physical and emotional health,” she said.
“We are on opposite sides of the care of our children. In fact, they are concealing it, and they are promoting it with our kids,” Fishbein continued. “They are, in fact, imposing and creating an environment in school that they are encouraging each other to fall within this kind of ideology.”
Last week, we exposed Pennsylvania school staff hiding a child’s gender transition from parents. I joined Fox & Friends Sunday to discuss. https://t.co/MWlCZuNQ9M
— Elana Yaron Fishbein “I am a Woman” (@NoLeftTurnElana) May 9, 2022
It’s unclear whether the student themself asked for their pronouns to be kept from their parents, and the Gender Sexuality Alliance is conceptualized as being a safe space for LGBTQ+ students.
This situation arises as right-wing politicians ignite controversy surrounding gender and sexuality being discussed in classrooms.
Just earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law, which prohibits educators from addressing the subjects of gender and sexual orientation between kindergarten and 3rd grade.
