Working against parents should have no place in Natick Public Schools!
For the better part of a year, we've been accurately reporting to families and taxpayers about Natick Public Schools' outrageous and divisive Gender Identity Support Policy and related support plans that allow children to change their name, pronouns, and other gender identity behaviors at school without parental consent or knowledge.
Moreover, Natick School Committee Chair Shai Fuxman recently told the Natick Report that NPS teachers and staff members can be part of a "transition support team" while the child's parents are kept in the dark.
Did you know our schools don't just work against parents whose children have gender support plans in place? NPS classroom teachers also ask children who aren't transitioning their gender and who don't have a gender support plan or a "transition support team" if their chosen name and "preferred pronouns" can be used when communicating with home/parents. This is happening at the middle school and high school levels, according to students and parents who have spoken to us about this appalling and divisive practice that undermines parent partnerships and student safety.
Students interviewed in the Natick Report article also confirm this NPS practice:
Not only does the Natick School Committee support policies and practices that involve misleading parents about their children, but it also seems to support misleading voters about its policies during election campaigns. A campaign post from a current Natick School Committee member who was up for re-election last March claimed that “the schools are not going behind the backs of caregivers to counsel LGBTQ+ students.”
Why did a sitting Natick School Committee member tell Natick voters that schools aren't going behind parents' backs to counsel students when the School Committee Chair and the policy documents themselves unquestionably say they are!!?
In March, the Natick School Committee Chair and other town officials received a 15-page legal letter about the risks and harms associated with the district's current gender identity support policy. As this legal letter points out, the lack of policy, legal, and social consensus about the risks and benefits of social transitioning for minor children emphasizes it's necessary to include parents or guardians in minor children decision-making with life-long consequences.
The letter also asks the School Committee to update its policy to require notifying/getting permission from parents or guardians for social transitioning at school. From the looks of things, the district continues to prefer a policy that supports staff and teachers working against parents about their own child's health and wellbeing. The jury is still out on how School Committee candidates who are up for re-election will handle the next election cycle when it comes to failed parent partnerships and the safety of all students.
Personalize our Gender Identity Opt-Out Form Letter for your school principal and teachers to opt your child out of surveys that ask him/her about their "preferred pronouns" and other controversial gender content. Email the Natick School Committee at schoolcommittee@natickps.org to voice your concerns about its unhealthy gender policies.
Will you also forward this email to other concerned Natick parents to help them stay informed and sign up to receive our weekly emails?
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