Senate bill would require WV teachers to out students' gender identity to parents
Teachers would be mandated to tell parents when a child requests to be referred to by a different name or pronouns that are different from the student's biological sex, according to a bill advancing in the West Virginia Senate.
The Republican-backed bill, Senate Bill 154, would also permit parents who aren't alerted about their child's gender-related requests to bring legal action against the public school.
Adam Wolfe, an award-winning math and engineering teacher at Nitro High School, told senators Thursday that the measure would put him in an uncomfortable position when students confide in him about their sexuality and fear parental retaliation.
'I've had conversations where they said, 'My dad will beat me if he finds out,'' Wolfe said while speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'My job is first and foremost is to teach them but also to guide them to help them figure out what they want to do. If they can't share how they identify, then why will they share other things?'
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, a public school teacher who sponsored an identical measure last year. Other Republicans who defended the measure said that parents' rights should always come before a child's privacy or educators' concerns.
'I believe that parents by and large love their children, and I believe that most parents in this state deserve to have the ability and respect to be told what is happening,' said Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson. 'We have to encourage united families.'
In response to Wolfe's testimony, Rucker suggested that a teacher talking to a student about their gender or sexuality without telling the parents could be construed as grooming.
'I was deeply disturbed to hear Sen. Patricia Rucker compare a witness who testified before the committee — a dedicated, exemplary math teacher — to a child predator who grooms children,' said Andrew Scheider, executive director of Fairness WV. 'What kind of world are we living in when our elected officials feel so comfortable making such outrageous accusations?'
The measure also prohibits public schools from requiring students to participate in sexual orientation instruction. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure, and it will next go to the full Senate for consideration.
The bill also lays out how families could file grievances against teachers who fail to disclose a student's gender identity. Some lawmakers voiced concern that the proposed system could result in unfair retaliation against teachers.
'We have a system that we're putting here related to grievances and complaints, which can be abused up the wazoo,' said Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion.
Fairness WV opposes the education measure, and Scheider said, 'Teachers would be forced to out their students even if they have strong reason to believe that doing so would result in the student experiencing physical or emotional abuse at home … In cases like these, a teacher would be faced with choosing between following this new law or putting their student's life at risk.'
Republicans have focused on biological sex this session rather than the state's overburdened foster care system or economic growth, Garcia said.
'I guess we have to put biological sex on the bill to have it run,' he said.
Another bill, Senate Bill 299, advancing in the Senate would ban hormone treatment for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The legislation would nearly close the state's very narrow exemption in its gender-affirming care ban for minors.
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