The Anoka-Hennepin School District is reevaluating its gender inclusion policy and considering rewriting guidelines that would emphasize parents’ rights in deciding their children’s names and gender identities.
The district’s current policy was enacted following a discrimination lawsuit filed by a transgender student and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in 2019 over locker room access. The settlement ensured that the policy could not be changed without state approval until June 15 of this year.
But the policy has recently been challenged by conservative members of the board, which is split 3-3 on social issues, stalling budget talks and textbook purchasing.
In an April Facebook post, board member Matt Audette cited “gender identity issues” among the district’s actions that conservative board members could not support, leading to a temporary budget stall. Specifically, Audette cited references to pronouns and gender identity in Anoka-Hennepin School District policies, as well as references to name and gender without parental consent.
“First of all, the question is, do we have to put it in place,” Audette said during a July 15 committee work session discussing the policy revision. “I think there’s a lot more there than is required.”
Tim Palmatier, the district’s general counsel, said maintaining the policy is essential to provide clarity to employees and prevent future discrimination lawsuits.
As a result of the committee’s discussions, the proposed changes more explicitly state that school officials must “respect the rights of parents” if a gender-nonconforming student requests a different name or pronoun. Students will be provided access to restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity, and they can also change their legal name.
Audette and board co-chairs Zach Alko and Casey Deschênes did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
The debate comes as some school districts in Minnesota and across the country are trying to craft policies to protect LGBTQ students, facing backlash from some parents and political groups.
Both the Minneapolis and Rochester school boards adopted gender equality policies this summer. Rochester’s controversial new policy allows teachers to share information about a student’s transgender identity with parents, if the parents request it. Neither policy makes it clear that it will take precedence over parental rights.
An education bill passed by Iowa Republicans this year would require school officials to inform parents if a transgender student wants to use a different name or pronoun, and to avoid discrimination lawsuits, many schools across the state have begun requiring parental permission forms for all students attending school under a name other than their legal name.
Meanwhile, California has passed a law banning students from requiring parents to notify them of their desired name or pronoun changes, and is facing a lawsuit from school districts.
“Respect parental rights”
The proposed amendments would prohibit Anoka-Hennepin school officials from “actively and intentionally” concealing information about a student’s gender expression “in a manner that violates parental rights,” allow for exceptions when a student fears parental retaliation or harm after such disclosure, and require a “dialogue process” between parents, students and the school district.
The draft version says students of all gender identities will be “respected and welcomed” at Anoka-Hennepin High School, but the policy will no longer include language such as “students have the right to be referred to by the name and pronouns consistent with their gender identity” or similar language.
Palmatier said school officials had already been in contact with parents when students requested name and pronoun changes.
During a work session on July 15, Audette and board member Jeff Simon proposed adding language that would prohibit staff from directly prompting students to reveal their pronouns. Palmatier said the language could be considered in the next draft of the policy.
The district, Minnesota’s largest, has faced legal challenges in the past over inclusivity for LGBTQ students. A 2011 lawsuit following multiple student suicides in the district led to a federal order from the Department of Justice, followed by a 2019 lawsuit that mandated the district’s inclusion policy, which also required training for staff and students.
“Simply put, I’m disappointed,” said Kirsten Schuette, executive director of the School Committee Integrity Project and a plaintiff in the 2011 lawsuit, then an 18-year-old Anoka High School senior.
“Parental rights are extremely important, but we need to make sure all of our students are safe,” Schuette said, “and at Anoka-Hennepin, students are not necessarily safe when they’re at home.”
The Minnesota Parent Teacher Alliance has supported many conservative school board candidates and has posted on social media in support of parents’ rights. Asked for comment on the proposed policy, Executive Director Christine Troyen issued a statement saying the focus should be on the more than $20 million in budget cuts the district faces over the next few years. The Anoka-Hennepin Parent Teacher Alliance did not respond to a request for comment.
Concerns about discrimination
David McKinney, an attorney with the ACLU of Minnesota, said he is concerned the policy change is discriminatory.
“Anoka High School is problematic in that it is singling out transgender youth and treating them differently than other students,” he said. The ACLU of Minnesota led the defense of the student in the 2019 lawsuit, along with Gender Justice, a Minnesota-based LGBTQ advocacy group.
Kat Roan, executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group OutFront Minnesota, said the Anoka-Hennepin school district’s proposed changes could discourage transgender students from seeking help from teachers and represent a “backslide” in progress the district has made in recent years toward LGBTQ inclusion.
The proposed language includes an explanation that the district’s policy does not intend to restrict students’ use of nicknames.
“If a child named Timothy wanted to be called Tim in the classroom, no one would ask a parent’s permission,” Lawn said, “but applying a name or pronoun change only to transgender students could create an unfair impact and violate the Minnesota Human Rights Act.”
The new language will be presented at the council’s Aug. 26 meeting for first reading and community comment, and could be put to a vote in September.
