West Cook News

River Forest District 90 now requires its teachers to "affirm" grade school students who claim they are the opposite of their biological sex, and wish to be treated as such at its schools. 

And teachers are forbidden from telling parents if their child decides they want to change their sex.

That's according to  "Administrative Procedure 7:10: Accommodating Transgender and Gender Expansive Students," published by the district. 

"The fact that a student chooses to disclose their transgender identity to school staff and/or other students does not authorize the school staff to disclose the student’s transgender identity or any medical information about the student to others," it says.

District 90's Willard Elementary School has started a gay and lesbian "club" for students ages 7-10, West Cook News reported Oct. 27. The club was founded by the new school psychologist and a pre-school teacher who publicly advocated for a similar "accommodating" policy in neighboring Oak Park District 97.

The policy requires the district to maintain a "School-wide Gender Support Team" to support students who wish to cross-dress and pretend they are a different sex.

"At all times, the Gender Support Team shall respect the self-determination of the student and shall develop a written Gender Support Plan for the student’s academic, social, and emotional success," the policy reads. 

Actions include mandating the student's use of opposite sex bathrooms, dictating to teachers and classmates the student's "new" preferred name and "gender identity" and updating official student records to reflect these changes, "reviewed and updated as necessary."

"All students have the right to be addressed by a name and/or pronouns that correspond to their gender identity. A student can request that all school staff and fellow students refer to the student by a name and/or pronouns that correspond to the student's gender identity," the policy says.

"The District will change the student’s name and/or gender marker in the District’s electronic database and will use the student’s preferred pronouns," it says.

And, River Forest District 90 boys must be allowed to play girls' sports, if they so choose.

"All students shall be permitted to participate in physical education classes, intramural sports, clubs, and school events that correspond with their gender identity and/or in ways that make them feel safest and most included," the policy says.

School libraries must include "gender- affirming children’s books, young adult fiction, fiction, non-fiction, multimedia, etc.," and teachers must submit to annual "in-depth, in-person annual training on supporting transgender and gender expansive students" and at that training can present views or information that might conflict with district teaching. 

That includes research showing that 80 to 95 percent of children "naturally grow out of any gender-identity conflicted stage," or the American Psychiatric Association's findings on gender dysphoria, the mental disorder from which children rejecting their biological sex suffer.

The APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders that holds children are not fully capable of understanding what it means to be a man or a woman, adding that most questioning their biological sex eventually come to accept it and stop "identifying" as the opposite one.

The District 90 "inclusiveness and equity" committee that created the school policy includes Nausheen Akhter, Juan Alegria, Distric 90 Board Member Katie Avalos, Heather Brauckman, Kim Briggs, Phillip Buta, Peter Chien, U-Jong Choe, School Superintendent Ed Condon, District 90 Board Member Cal Davis, Rashida Dairyko, Rebecca DeGroff, Alicia Driskill, Ron Dubois, Blaire Goldstein, Casey Godfrey, Sarah Hampson, Alison Hawley, Gina Hardy, Melissa Healy, Lynda Holliday, Liz Huber, Allison Jack, Stephanie Kang, Nikki Kidd, Marsha Leibundguth, Patti Marino, Denise Matthews, Rebecca McFall, Suzanne McLeese, Janeice Millon, Kelly O'Keefe, Roshni Ricchetti, Mandy Ross, Renee Sichlau, Dawne Simmons, Eric Simon, Kristin Sneeringer, Louisa Starr, Deb Steiner, Lori Suzuki, Respicio Vazquez, Annie Wallis, Danielle Watkins and Deb Wolkstein.