The Chico Unified School District from California held voting in order to maintain its “parental secrecy” policy.
“Parental secrecy” allows the school district to keep parents in the dark if a student changes his/her gender to a different gender at school.
Educators along with a mother, Aurora Regino, who is presently suing the district, provided their input to the board at the meeting.
Regino claimed that a school counselor encouraged the transition of her 11-year-old daughter without her approval or consent.
The board voted 3-2 to keep the current policy in place.
Regino has voiced her displeasure with the district’s policy and is requesting greater transparency regarding the counseling provided to school students.
She clarified:
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My daughter was distressed and began questioning her sexuality, so she decided to reach out to a wellness counselor at her elementary school.”
The mother said:
“The day my daughter shared with her guidance counselor that she felt like a boy. The counselor immediately affirmed this new identity. My daughter told the counselor she wanted to tell me about her new identity. The counselor ignored her request and did nothing to support her and letting me know what was going on at school.”
Oliva Phillips, an educator backing student privacy policy, argued:
“We as educators and service providers, we as educators need to cultivate an environment where students feel trust and safety and acceptance, to be unapologetically themselves without repercussions of backlash.”
