Jefferson County School System Providing No Answer On Parental Notice Of Student “Gender Transition”
Image Credit: COMSEVENTHFLT / CC
By David Seal [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] –
Parents have one more nightmare to add to their inventory of stressors concerning their children’s life at school. It comes in the form of a question concerning parental notice.
If my child were to express the desire to transition from his or her God-given gender to an alternative gender, would I be notified by the school system?
The answer to that question is an elusive one in Jefferson County Schools.
For the past 7 months, questions have been presented to school system officials on this topic with no clear answer in response. A myriad of mental health counseling services is provided in Jefferson County Schools by a third-party contract provider, Allied Behavioral Health Solutions (ABHS). This company employees at least 12 clinicians serving schools with grade levels pre-K to Grade 12.
Here is the exact text of the unanswered question presented to Jefferson County Schools.
If a student is being counseled by Allied Behavioral Health Solutions and the student expresses the desire to undergo NON-MEDICAL transition from his or her God-given gender to that of another gender by any of the following methods, using pronouns that are not consistent with his or her God-given gender, identifying as a gender that is not consistent with his or her God-given gender, or requesting that he or she be referred to by a name that is inconsistent with his or her God-given gender, and the student requests confidentiality, will Allied Behavioral Health Solutions inform his or her parents or legal guardian of the student’s expressed desire to transition?
(Copy of email to school board and director with above question April 19, 2023)
The presumed answer is NO, parents will not be informed.
This presumption is based on the fact that the Jefferson County School System has, 1) had several months to respond to the question to reassure parents that they will be notified if their child expresses a desire to “transition” their gender identity at school, 2) the American Counseling Association 2014 Code of Ethics requires confidentiality (pages 5-8) with two rare exceptions for endangerment and client consent.
It is unclear what code of ethics is followed by Jefferson County Schools’ mental health contractor. A formal records request was made on March 30, 2023, seeking this and other data. The director of Jefferson County Schools responded as follows: “Jefferson County Schools is not the record holder of the information you requested. We cannot provide you with a document that we are not in possession of. If I had the information, I would give it to you as we have multiple times.”
(Copy of records request of March 30, 2023, and email response linked here)
ABHS has stated the obvious in response to an inquiry made by School Board Member Joshua Cameron on April 11, 2023, that medical gender transition therapy for minors is unlawful in the state of Tennessee and that “We [ABHS] would not be referring or advising students on any such matter.” This does not answer the supreme question of whether parents will be notified if their student expresses a desire to undergo non-medical gender transition at school.
“As a parent, I would want to know if my child was being counseled on the topic of ‘gender transition’ while at school, even if I had provided consent for them to be seen by a mental health clinician for another condition. It is my right as a parent to be informed about topics of such gravity concerning my child.” – Alicia Bonora, Jefferson County Citizen
The path to full-blown surgical gender transition is known to start at school. As the Federalist reported on February 15, 2023, students that seek intrusive medical gender transition initially discuss the process at school with counselors and teachers. The Federalist calls this process the “School to Scalpel Pipeline.”
‘Queer’ Whistleblower Exposes The School-To-Scalpel Pipeline (thefederalist.com)
With mental health services being pushed into public schools by the Biden administration and by the Tennessee Department of Education, parents are strongly advised to monitor this situation closely.
*Article originally published on The Jefferson County Post – republished here by request from the author.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level.
Yup, lucifer’s edjicaters.