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Dear Editor:
If you haven’t watched the video or seen news clips from HSE’s school board meeting from April 24, 2019, I suggest you find them. The conduct displayed by board member Sylvia Shepler is “Exhibit A” that a non-discrimination policy including “gender identity” is critically important for my child’s safety.
If a member of the board is emboldened to openly harass transgender students in an official meeting, imagine their experiences with intolerant peers and teachers in classrooms, hallways and on buses.
I am the proud parent of a transgender student within the HSE district. Throughout this school year my son and I have navigated issues ranging from bullying, harassment and intimidation. Many might be surprised to know only a small percentage of these situations involved peers; offenders were mainly teachers and administrators refusing to use his appropriate name and gender or singling him out during classes.
The district’s primary responsibility is to educate each of our children as they are. It is their duty to protect them from harassment and provide an environment in which they will succeed.
Who are you protecting by avoiding inclusive language? From where I am sitting the exclusion of this language is a disservice to our most vulnerable students. It is for this reason I am asking the school board to embrace inclusive language in HSE’s non-discrimination policy, including gender identity.
I want my child’s school to do more than the “bare minimum” to protect its students. As a community, we are called to go above and beyond for the sake of ALL of our children.
Crystal Osbourne
Fishers