A dystopian nightmare is seizing America. A growing number of states are now directing public schools to help young students make gender transitions. In certain cases, educators are even mandated to keep such information secret from parents. In June 2023, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) published new requirements for serv- ing “transgender and gender expan- sive [TGE]” students. The guidelines instruct teachers to lie to parents if a child wants to socially transition at school without their parents’ consent. “Only the student knows whether it is safe to share their identity with caregivers,” the NYSED document explains. “Schools should be mind- ful that some TGE students do not want or cannot have their parents/ guardians know about their trans- gender status.” If a student named Kevin wants to be called Kimi but does not want his parents to know, the document instructs, “The teachers call her Kimi and use she/her pronouns at school. When calling home for any reason, teachers use the name Kevin and he/ him pronouns.” New York has also recommended that all schools adopt
the National Sex Education Standards, which introduce “gender identity” in kindergarten and teach children about puberty blockers by fifth grade. Elementary school is no place for these conversations. It is predatory behavior to talk to children about sex and gender changes behind the backs of their parents and even more so to twist the truth in such perverse ways. Tragically, New York is not the only state that is propagating these harm- ful lies to children. Washington and Oregon have enacted legislation that enables children as young as 15 to transition from their biolog- ical sex, which includes hormone injections, puberty blockers, and irreversible destructive surgeries. Illinois has mandated that all public schools teach students from kinder- garten through second grade about gender identity. These so-called “gender-affirm- ing” policies are a direct assault on our children. They endanger the health, safety, and future of an entire generation. Studies universally show that children are not neurologically advanced enough to make life-alter- ing decisions. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for rational deci- sion-making, is not fully developed until well into a person’s twenties , which leaves even older teenagers reliant on the highly emotional and reactive part of the brain known as the amygdala . Children need years
of experience before conceptualizing the connection between cause and effect . Yet, these far-left gender poli- cies confuse and abuse children when they are most vulnerable.
The Fight to Protect Our Children
Fortunately, Republican lawmakers have worked with uncharacteristic speed to stop these egregious prac- tices before they are widespread in the United States. Thus far in 2023, at least 10 Republican-led states have passed bills to ban or significantly restrict the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and mutilat- ing gender reassignment surgeries for minors. While many Democratic leaders continue to aggressively pursue “gender-affirming” legislation, other Western nations have actually pulled back from such policies. Five Euro- pean countries the United King- dom, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and France have recently reversed course after allowing gender reas- signments for years, urging caution due to the severe health risks for minors. In June 2023, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) issued a major decision to restrict the prescription of puberty blockers to clinical trials. The directive stated, “There is not enough evidence to support their safety or clinical effec- tiveness as a routinely available treatment and that
Volume 17 Issue 4 • 27
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