DELAWARE SHORT REPRIEVE: PARENTS MOBILIZE TO HALT GOVERNOR’S RULE 225 ALLOWING K-12 CHILDREN TO “SELF-IDENTIFY” GENDER & RACE

DELAWARE: PARENTS MOBILIZE TO HALT GOVERNOR’S RULE 225 ALLOWING K-12 CHILDREN TO “SELF-IDENTIFY” GENDER & RACE
(THAT IS, UNTIL JANUARY 2018) 
BY DR. SUSAN BERRY
 
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
 Parents and family groups have succeeded in putting a halt to a 
proposed rule in Delaware that would have allowed children in grades 
K-12 to self-identify as a gender or race without the consent of their 
parents.
 

Nicole Theis discusses Regulation 225 on Fox News Live from Delaware Families on Vimeo.

According to the text of Regulation 225
– referred to as an “anti-discrimination” regulation – Delaware school
officials may not wish to trust parents with the information their child
wants to identify as the opposite biological sex or a different race,
if those parents are not fully on board with their child’s decision:

7.4 All students enrolled in a Delaware public school may self-identify gender or race which is maintained in eSchoolPLUS.

7.4.1 A school may request permission from the parent or legal
guardian of a minor student before a self-identified gender or race is
accepted; provided, however, that prior to requesting the permission
from a parent or legal guardian, the school should consult and work
closely with the student to assess the degree to which, if any, the
parent or legal guardian is aware of the Protected Characteristic and is
supportive of the student, and the school shall take into consideration
the safety, health and well-being of the student in deciding whether to
request permission from the parent or legal guardian.

“Policies like Regulation 225 are setting parents up as a ‘non-ally’ and ‘unsupportive,’ discriminatory, even abusive, if they affirm their child’s biological realities and work through it instead of embracing the confusion,” states Delaware Family Policy Council – which spearheaded opposition to the rule.

The group continues that while all children should be treated with
respect, and gender-confused children should receive “compassionate
accommodations,” the rule obstructs “the right of parents to care for
their children without government intrusion.”

“Regulation 225 fails to protect the privacy and safety of all
students,” Delaware Family Policy Council continues. “Students may claim
or ‘self-identify’ as the opposite gender at any time and have access
to the locker rooms, showers, restrooms, overnight accommodations, and
any school activity (sports team) that is gender specific.”

Council president Nicole Theis worked to gather over 8,000 petitions
against the policy, including 11,000 comments in the state register
within the 30-day comment period.

Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins observes
that, as a result of the effort, Gov. John Carney (D) has announced a
delay of the rule. The comments will be reviewed in January and – if
significant changes are made – the rule will be published again with
another 30-day comment period.


The regulation is backed by LGBT rights supporters.

“This shouldn’t be in question: discrimination is blatantly wrong,” said Rep. Debra Heffernan (D) in November, according to Delaware State News,
about the regulation. “Kids deserve to be safe in our schools, and
without the fear of being bullied because of who they are or what they
wear.”

“The Department of Education crafted this anti-discrimination policy
at Gov. Carney’s direction so that students can learn in an inclusive
environment where they can feel safe and respected,” she added. “That
inclusive environment is essential for all children to learn and grow.”

Rep. Rich Collins (R), however, said the regulation “opens Pandora’s Box. It has the potential to twist schools up in knots.”

Collins added the rule is invalid because it is “not based on any legal authority granted by the General Assembly.”

According to Delaware State News, Indian River School District Board of Education sent a letter to the state education department last week, objecting to the regulation.

The news report states:

Among the concerns cited by board members are worries
about a non-transgender student taking advantage of “the premise of this
regulation to gain access to private areas within the school,” which
could “open the school district to substantial litigation.” The proposal
also places “the district in direct conflict with students and their
parents” and could lead to lawsuits and a lack of trust between the
district and parents, board members wrote.

Most state House Republicans – 14 of 16 members – sent a letter to
Delaware Secretary of Education Susan Bunting last month, urging her to
reject the statewide regulation and allow local school districts to
handle related issues as they see fit.

More parents of all political stripes are dismissing the claims of LGBT activists – often funded by
wealthy progressive philanthropists – who accuse them of bigotry and
discrimination for not accepting an ideology that rejects the scientific
fact of the existence of two biological sexes – male and female.

Polls show
a strong majority of ordinary Americans oppose the claim that
unverifiable “gender” is more significant than a person’s sex. Polls
also indicate that Americans want sexual privacy in bathrooms and shower rooms – and especially in K-12 schools. Finally, the polls show that most Americans want to be polite and helpful to
the very few gender dysphoric individuals who wish to live as members
of the other sex. According to one study of the 2010 census, the
population of transgender people amounts to one in every 2,400 Americans, or 0.03 percent of the adult population.
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