At a school committee meeting in Cumberland, Rhode Island last week, dozens testified against proposed changes to a policy supporting a student’s right to maintain privacy, even from their parents, when discussing gender-transition issues with school faculty and staff.
The subsequent committee vote, which came down 5-2 in favor of maintaining the policy, “ensures the safety of transgender and gender expansive students in Cumberland,” reports independent Rhode Island journalist Steve Ahlquist on his Substack.
Reports Ahlquist:
Last Tuesday, the Cumberland School Committee’s Policy Subcommittee failed to pass proposed changes to the Cumberland School District’s A-7 Transgender & Nonbinary Policy. Based on their lawyer’s reading of the US Supreme Court decision Mirabelli v. Bonta, the subcommittee considered revising the policy to mandate that the school system report children who identify as transgender to their parents (as long as the child is determined to be in no danger from the parent in the event of disclosure) and that parents can force teachers to misgender students who use names or pronouns the parents object to.
Unable to pass the policy out of the subcommittee, the proposed changes came before the full Cumberland School Committee two days later. . . . The policy changes failed on a 5-2 vote, with committee members Jason Dean and Andrew Bacon voting no [with Dean voicing concern and support for transgender youth but also for parental rights].
Ahead of the vote, dozens of people filled the cafeteria at Cumberland High School to oppose the proposed changes. A handful of people showed up in favor of the changes. Many of them spoke, and all but one spoke in opposition. The stories told were raw and real. Here’s the video. I have transcribed them, edited for clarity. [See the story for the full transcript.] . . .
Of the handful of people in favor of the policy in attendance, only one spoke publicly. . . .With no more vitriolic, hateful, or misinformed speakers, the meeting proceeded without incident.
