These New Hampshire School Districts Still Have Transgender Policies That Leave Parents In The Dark

 A slew of New Hampshire school districts have policies about trans-identifying children that keep parents in the dark about their child’s gender identity.

At least three school districts in the blue state explicitly forbid staff from informing parents about a student’s gender identity change, Parents Defending Education found.

Those districts are the Portsmouth School District, the Keene School District, and the Exeter Region Cooperative School District.

“School personnel should not disclose information that may reveal a student’s gender identity and expression to others, including parents, and other school personnel, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure,” the Portsmouth district’s policyreads.

The Keene district’s policy is worded similarly — it specifically prohibits disclosing to parents, and so is the Exeter school district’s policy.

“Transgender and gender nonconforming students have the right to discuss and express their gender identity and expression openly and to decide when, with whom, and how much to share private information,” the Keene district’s policy adds.

The Manchester School District’s policy does not mention parents specifically, but it does say school staff must hide a student’s new name and pronouns unless the student has given permission.

Several other New Hampshire districts have policies that suggest a student could talk to school administrators about their gender identity without involving a parent.

The Nashua School District, the Concord School District, and the Dover School District all have policies like this.

The Nashua district’s policy states that “parents and/or students are encouraged to discuss with building administrators any issues that may arise in relation to student’s transgender and non-conforming status.”

 

Students might discuss privacy, official school records, names and pronouns, using the restrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex, sex-segregated activities like sports, the dress code, and “safety and support,” the policy says.

The Concord district says either a student “or” their parent can ask for a “Gender Support and Transition Plan,” and the Dover district says a trans-identifying student “and/or” their parent can contact the student counselor about gender identity issues.

Gender ideology in schools exploded as a hot-button issue several years ago.

Many tweens and teens discovered gender ideology online during the pandemic, and later, parents realized their children’s schools were keeping them in the dark about their child’s gender identity change.

A wave of parents across the country pushed back, calling for schools to adopt parental notification policies, and many districts did so.

Transgender medicalization of children, such as breast and genital surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones, continues to be a fiercely controversial issue this presidential election cycle.

“Parents first and foremost know what is best for their children,” Casey Ryan, investigative reporter for Parents Defending Education, said in a statement to The Daily Wire.

“The fact that New Hampshire school districts have adopted policies to strip parents of their rights is nothing short of despicable. If these school districts practiced what they preached in caring for their students, parents would be involved in every decision they make,” Ryan said.