Concerned parents have plenty of reasons to consider pulling their children from public schools, be it the exposure to radical hard-left ideology in the classroom or bullying and the all-around violence in schools, but there’s another reason quickly climbing the list — teachers and other school officials intervening in the parenting of children.
Nowhere is this more prevalent than when it comes to the growing fad of transgenderism, where pro-LGBTQ+ activist teachers advocate for keeping parents in the dark when their children decide they are transgender — a decision that is often celebrated in schools and results in children receiving special attention.
While Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis take the lead in fighting for parents’ rights in schools, Democrats like California state Sen. Scott Wiener see parents as potentially violent threats to their children.
“A DeSantis-style bill was just introduced in CA to require teachers/counselors to inform parents if a kid id’s as a gender not on birth certificate. Even if the kid isn’t ready to come out to their parents,” Wiener tweeted. “Even if ratting the kid out risks violence at home. Nope, not in CA.”
A DeSantis-style bill was just introduced in CA to require teachers/counselors to inform parents if a kid id’s as a gender not on birth certificate.
Even if the kid isn’t ready to come out to their parents. Even if ratting the kid out risks violence at home.
Nope, not in CA.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) March 13, 2023
It’s rather troubling that Weiner, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who is openly gay and a member of the LGBTQ caucus in the California state legislature, openly advocates for intervening between parents and their children.
His tweet prompted a reply from DeSantis deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern, “What other secrets do you want kids to keep from their parents, Scott?”
California state Rep. Bill Essayli (R) responded to plug a bill he introduced that will require schools to notify parents when a student is actively identifying by a different gender, not that it goes anywhere in the Demcorat-controlled legislature.
At the same time, Essayli said “this bill is necessary because schools are instructing teachers to conceal this information from parents.”
Senator @Scott_Wiener I encourage you to read the bill and my thread. My bill is aimed at supporting trans minors, not hurting them. The notification requirement is only triggered when a minor is already publicly identifying by a different gender at school. https://t.co/QH8Yi1OoBe
— Bill Essayli (@billessayli) March 13, 2023
Wiener was “dismissive” of the notion that not being a parent might leave him uninformed — after all, having staked out the moral high ground, he proceeds with the approval of his own conscience.
And the “are you a parent” line is pretty dismissive, Erica. I understand very well the ramifications of a teacher being forced to tell parents about a kid’s sexual orientation or gender identity before the kid is ready. It’s harmful, which is why it’s being pushed by the right.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) March 13, 2023
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
Tell me you’re a predator trying to circumvent parents without telling me you’re a predator trying to circumvent parents.
— PETRIFIED COVID PARENT (@covid_parent) March 13, 2023
If I had a child that was struggling with their gender identity, I’d want to know. To assume that parents are automatically a threat to their child’s existence, without cause, is insulting, and it’s government inserting itself b/w kids and parents when it has no right to do so…
— Stephen Martin-Pinto (@StephenMPinto) March 13, 2023
You mean teachers won’t be able to put weird ideas in little kids heads and then keep it a secret from parents? What a scandal!
— Princess Sparkle Krogan (@NiftuCal) March 13, 2023
They are the parent’s kids. They are not the teacher’s kids.
— Coach Macgyver (@coach_macgyver) March 13, 2023
I’m expecting your next tweet to be, “Don’t tell your parents, you don’t need them. Come tell me, I will be your family.”
— Brad (@bradgrow) March 13, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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