A North Dakota school district is catching flak from parents who allege it continues to keep families in the dark about students’ gender identities despite Gov. Doug Burgum, R., signing a bill into law prohibiting the shady practice earlier this month.
“We will not openly out any student because of one law if we know that that’s going to cause harm to that child,” Fargo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Rupak Gandhi announced in response to the law.
Gandhi also cited perceived conflict between state and federal law on the issue, arguing the district should continue to advocate for students who identify as transgender, according to a report from The National Desk.
Despite the district’s claim that the policy is not in place to push back against parents, some took exception at a board meeting scheduled for last Tuesday.
“The way I heard it is that you want to protect kids from their parents,” one father alleged, he proceeded to slam the policy, claiming the district is “suppressing talk.”
“Not only do you think you know my kids better than I do, you think you know every kid better than every parent does by saying you will not deal with the parents…”
“Won’t you be shocked to discover when this happens to one of your kids?” he asked those observing the discussion.
Another parent, a mother, stood at the podium and voiced her concerns about the policy as well.
“Whether or not you agree with the politics of the law or what is behind it, I really urge you all to pay attention to what we’re setting as a precedent,” she said.
“Whose kids are these? Do they belong to you as a school board? Do they belong to Fargo Public Schools or is each parent’s child ultimately the decision-maker in their family over what is allowed and what is safe for that child…?”
“There is no possible way for each teacher to know every kid as intimately as their parents do,” she continued.
The mother, continuing her talk before the school board, later added another warning for parents, saying, “Parenting 101: You teach your kids that nobody that asks you to keep a secret is safe.”
The district, like others across the nation that have elected to withhold certain information regarding students’ gender identities from parents, cites potential unsafe home environments that could stem from families’ unwillingness to accept their children’s decisions.
HB1522, in part, prohibits school boards from adopting policies requiring or prohibiting use of a student’s preferred pronouns and bars the district, boards or teachers from “withhold[ing] or conceal[ing] information about a student’s transgender status from the student’s parent or legal guardian.”
The bill also addresses several key transgender issues, including restroom policies that have dominated discussions across the US in recent years.
Fox News Digital reached out to the board members of Fargo Public Schools for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.