The second-largest school district in Colorado has reportedly informed teachers to use a “gender unicorn” to understand transgender students and not tell parents if their children are showing gender confusion at school.
Jefferson County Public School district is using a toolkit called ‘Toolkit for Supporting Transgender & Gender Expansive/Nonconforming Students’ to educate teachers on how to handle the thorny issue of gender confusion among students.
In this guide for educators is a “gender unicorn” – picture below – that helps to explain the differences between “gender identity,” “gender expression,” “sex assigned at birth” – and the appropriate pronouns to use – as well as physical and emotional attraction preferences.
The part of the guide that upset a parent who leaked the teachings to The Daily Wire is a point where teachers are informed that signs of gender dysmorphia or “persistent” gender confusion do not need to be reported to parents if the child is over 11. This means a student could go by a different gender and/or name at school without their parents knowing.
Approaching parents is appropriate “at the elementary level,” the packet reportedly reads. For older students, however, it claims it is in the benefit of the well-being of the student to consider not involving their parents.
“In some cases, notifying parents/guardians carries risks for the student, such as being kicked out of the home,” the guide reads. It says that prior to notifying parents or guardians in these cases, the school staff should “work closely with the student to assess the degree, if any, the parent/guardian will be involved in the process” and must “consider the health, well-being, and safety of the student in transition.”