Maryland (LifeSiteNews) — The largest school district in Maryland is promoting transgender lifestyles among its students, insisting that any students who “may feel uncomfortable” around transgender peers need counseling services to avoid discrimination.
In Montgomery County Public School’s “Guidelines for Student Gender Identity,” various procedures are presented which are “efforts to create, foster, and promote equity, inclusion, and acceptance for all.”
This official document was released in September 2021 and specifies that students who are not comfortable with school practices geared towards “inclusivity” should seek counseling to better understand and appreciate “gender identities.”
“Some students may feel uncomfortable with a transgender student using the same sex-specific facility,” the document states.
This discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender student. School administrators and counseling staff members should work with students to address their discomfort to foster understanding of gender identity and to create a school culture that respects and values all students.
The document declares that students may access whichever “gender-specific facilities” they choose, regardless of biological sex. If transgender students experience any discomfort when using a “shared facility” such as a bathroom or locker room, they can “be provided with a safe and non-stigmatizing alternative arrangement such as a single bathroom or a separate changing schedule.”
Any accommodations made are expected to be done so in a “manner that safeguards confidentiality.” Transgender students may only access “alternative arrangements” through their own requests. The school is not permitted to require them to use facilities which correspond to their biological sex.
The document continues to detail school procedures which protect “rights” of transgender students to participate as any gender of which they “identify.” Dress codes insist that transgender and gender nonconforming students may dress however they choose, regardless of biological sex. It is also encouraged that individual schools “consider gender-neutral dress codes.”
During overnight field trips, the school allows students to choose whether they will be in the girls or boys designated sleeping areas. In case of suspected discrimination or discomfort, a student can also be given a “safe and non-stigmatizing alternative arrangement.” Where a transgender student will sleep can only be discussed with parents “if the family is supportive of the student.”
Counselling offered for ‘safety’ of ‘transgender’ students
Although transgender students are offered numerous opportunities to opt-out of uncomfortable situations, students who are uneasy about having girls pretend to be boys, and vice versa, are ushered into counseling to ensure “safety” for the transgender community, with little to no consideration for the discomforts of the rest of the student body.
Alongside the counseling recommendation, the “Guidelines for Student Gender Identity” indicates that student “transition plans” are better left unknown to the student’s parents, if the family is “unsupportive.”
Montgomery County has previously attracted media attention for endorsing the indoctrination of gender ideology in public schools.
In May, an elementary school in the district invited students to pay homage to LGBTQ ideology by holding rainbow flags and reciting LGBTQ values, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.
Montgomery County Public Schools is also pushing to have schools build “at least one gender-neutral restroom on each floor in high-traffic areas” and consider confidentiality while designing “gender-neutral” facilities in the future.
Over the past year, school districts across the country have implemented similar “gender affirming” practices. New Jersey will be teaching second-graders “gender identity” as early as September. In Wisconsin, teachers have been told that parents must “earn” the right to be informed of their children’s “gender identities.”
However, some parts of the country have resisted conformity, including Florida and Alabama.
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