Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gettr, Truth Social, Twitter, YouTube
America First Legal (AFL) just accused Amity Regional School District No. 5 (ARSD) in Woodbridge, CT, of violating parental rights that are enshrined into federal law, according to the NY Post.
The complaint said Amity had "taken the position that FERPA [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] requires concealing student records from parents."
However, AFL argued that “FERPA restricts disclosure of student records to third parties" but that it "does not restrict disclosure to parents — the primary holders of rights under FERPA."
The ARSD policy states that a student has the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun that corresponds to the student's gender identity and that a student can use restroom facilities and locker rooms, join scholastic sports teams and more, all based on a student's gender identity.
The policy explicitly indicates that school personnel may not reveal a student's gender identity to anyone -- not even the student's parents or legal guardians.
“Parents are the primary decision-makers for their children,” said AFL senior counsel Ian Prior in a statement. “ARSD’s gender identity policies are plainly unlawful. Federal intervention is needed to reverse these policies and restore parents’ rightful role at the center of these decisions.”
AFL filed the complained with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education’s Division of Student Privacy Policy Office. It has also demanded an investigation, along with remedial measures including rescinding the "district’s policy, FERPA training for staff, and possible removal of federal funds."
The ARSD Transgender policy appears to be based off the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) Model Policy on Transgender Students.
CABE provides recommended sample policy numbered 5145.53, titled “Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth.” It has been updated over the years, most recently in 2024. Many Connecticut districts have adopted and/or adapted the policy.
The CABE policy, however, does not contain the same interpretation about FERPA that Amity uses, and instead indicates there may be instances when parental communication and involvement are essential to effectuating the district’s legal obligation in cases that involve statutory authorities, such as Section 504 and IDEA.
Based upon the 2024 CABE Guidance, professional staff are expected to fulfill the obligation to disclose a student’s preferred name, gender marker, and pronouns to the student’s parents or guardians where these identifiers differ from the student’s sex at birth.
However, the 2017 version of the CABE guidance, which is still available on the state government's portal, did recommend "when contacting the parent or guardian of a transgender or gender non-conforming student, school personnel should use the student’s legal name and the pronoun corresponding to the student’s gender assigned at birth unless the student, parent, or guardian has specified otherwise."
Connecticut parents would be wise to check their local school board policy, and connect with AFL should they find language similar to Amity's policy.
Stay updated with the latest in the Constitution State with The CT Centinal
Question - one that never seems to surface: "The ARSD policy states that a student has the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun" - how and when do we EVER address someone by a pronoun? A pronoun is a third-person reference. Riddle me that one....