Debate Desk
May Schools Keep a Student's Social Transition a Secret From Parents?
Parents have the primary role in raising their children; school staff should not withhold what bears on a child's well-being.
The claim
Some school districts have adopted policies under which staff may use a different name or pronoun at school for a student without telling the student's parents, if the student asks. Supporters say this protects children whose families may react badly and that trust between student and counselor matters.
The answer in three points
- Parents have the primary responsibility for raising their children. The Supreme Court has recognized the liberty interest of parents in the care, custody and control of their children, and a school stands in for parents during the day. It does not stand over them.
- A school should not make a significant decision about a child's identity or well-being and keep it from the people with the most knowledge of the child and the most at stake. That is a matter of respect for the family, and it applies to many topics, from health to discipline.
- This is an area where policy, not medicine, is the question. We take no position here on any medical matter. The policy question is who decides and who is told, and notification policies that bring parents in, with exceptions for real risk of abuse handled by child protective authorities, respect both the child and the family.
A school that treats parents as partners earns their trust.
The numbers
- Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) and Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) are the Supreme Court's early cases recognizing the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.
- Troxel v. Granville (2000) described the interest of parents in the care, custody and control of their children as among the oldest fundamental liberty interests the Court has recognized.
- The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 gives parents the right to inspect their children's education records, according to the Department of Education.
What they will say next
"Some children are not safe at home." Where there is a real risk of abuse, the law has procedures involving child welfare authorities, and school staff are mandated reporters. A blanket rule of secrecy treats every family as a risk.
"Children need a trusted adult at school." Counselors can and should support students, and they can encourage a child to involve his parents. Support does not require concealment.
"Parents might respond badly." Most parents love their children and respond with care. A policy should not be built on the exception.
"This is a state matter." Legislatures and school boards set these policies, and voters can have a say. Conservatives favor that approach over decisions made in secret.
Schools and families succeed best when they work together and in the open.
"Schools should not out students." A policy of informing parents with safeguards for risk of abuse differs from public disclosure. The aim is to keep parents involved in a child's life, and the details are for legislatures and local boards.