Conservatives decry school district’s gender identity policy

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative law group is challenging a Madison School District policy that prohibits school staff employees from telling parents if their child is transitioning genders at school, unless they have that student’s permission.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the guidance document went into effect last school year.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is asking that it be repealed. The group’s president, Rick Esenberg, says the policy instructs employees to deceive students’ families.

Sherie Hohs oversees the district’s LGBT student support services. Hohs says outing students to families who may not accept their transition could have “devastating effects on their safety.”

She says about 4% of Madison school students identified in a 2018 survey as transgender or non-binary, or they rejected static gender identities altogether.