Student Story:
"I am a transgender student at this school and I have been for the past two years. I have never felt it was safe to come out to my parents because of the transphobic and homophobic rhetoric they have been spewing my whole life. The one place I have been able to find comfort and safety is through my teachers and friends at school. They are the only people who have supported me leading up to me coming out to my parents. I never would have gathered the strength to come out to them if I didn't get any of that support from my teachers. This policy tarnishes that ability for support and is incredibly dangerous. Parents are not owed that type of information from their child if the child isn't ready to share"
Staff Story:
"I have been teaching at this school for over 20 years. In the past few years I have been sending out a google form to each of my students at the beginning of each semester asking them questions in order for me to get to know them a little better. Included in this form I ask them for their preferred name and their pronouns. I have come to notice that by me doing this it has made a number of students feel more comfortable to be in my classroom. It INCLUDES people-not isolates. This policy will inhibit my ability to make students feel most comfortable and it is completely unnecessary."
More students and staff speak, sharing similar sentiments. The meeting spans almost FOUR hours.