A row has erupted after about a new law which opponents claim will force teachers to ‘out’ their LGBT students to parents.
The argument emerged when a Texas senator proposed a bill stating parents should have access to all of a school’s written records about their child’s “general physical, psychological or emotional well-being”.
This would mean that if parents ask for any of this information, teachers would be required by law to hand it over.
The senator bringing the bill, Konni Burton, has said the law is a response to guidelines drawn up by Fort Worth school district that banned staff from telling parents about their children being transgender.
She called guidelines designed to protect students’ privacy “extremely concerning” and has defended “the parent’s role in their child’s life”. Following an outcry, the guidelines surrounding transgender students were significantly altered.
Now, Sen Burton has proposed the new bill to guarantee parents access to information held by schools about their children.
She said she wants to make it “unequivocally clear that a parent has a right to full and total information on their child’s academic performance, physical, mental and emotional health, and more”.
“No parent in Texas should ever have to fight for the basic right to matter in their child’s life again,” she added.
But LGBT campaigners have expressed serious concerns about the impact the proposed law will have on vulnerable students.
“What she’s proposed would destroy any productive communication between a student and a school counselor,” Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas told the San Antonio Current. “It would take away a counselor’s ability to do their job.”
Steve Rudner, Equality Texas board chair, added: “If your kid is gay, and can tell his teacher, but hasn’t told you, then you are the problem.
“If a kid can tell a teacher but not their parent, it is a pretty good indication that your child is scared of you and the consequences of telling you, and you are who the kid needs to be protected from.”
Sen Burton has responded by saying that her bill is not designed to deal with issues of sexuality or gender, but is instead designed to protect “how parents are treated by the government entities they fund”.
She said it will toughen up existing rules that give parents a “right to know” and stop them being marginalized in their children’s lives.
She also said that there will be clear exceptions in cases where students report abuse or neglect.
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