One of the issues that can be endlessly fascinating is America’s struggle to figure out what is private and what is not. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Foote v. Ludlow (Mass.) School Committee decided on February 18 digs deep into this. The facts themselves illustrate just how complex school life has become.
Our plaintiffs are the parents of two 12 year old children attending 6th grade in a Massachusetts public school. In 2012, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed legislation holding that students could not be discriminated against on the basis of gender identity. Mass. Gen Leg. Chapter 6, section 75.
In December 2020 one of the Foote children asked to meet with a teacher. During the conversation the child (born as a female) indicated she (the opinion resorts to using the term “they”) was depressed and anxious. After conferring with colleagues, the teacher contacted the student’s parents to report this conversation. The parents responded positively to this outreach and indicated that they would be seeking professional guidance for the child. All good so far, but with a twist. The parents asked that while they addressed the matter, the school step back from engaging with the student concerning those anxieties.
In late February, the student sent an email to her teacher and her guidance counselor reporting that she was “genderqueer.” In addition, the child adopted a new first name and indicated the pronoun “it” should be used when referenced in school materials. The school accepted this decision and did not report it to the parents. And it seems the child did not inform these status changes to “its” parents telling, the school it would deal with the parents. So we have both the parents and the child asking for privacy to be respected.
The school did as requested. The child has a new identity in school but the records to the outside world...
