A Disturbing Proposal Concerning Parental Rights

Parents are the ones who ultimately have both a legal and moral responsibility for the upper end is family policymakers with NC family Pres. John Weston joining us this week for family policy matters. Today we will be talking about a new story from the state of Delaware.

Apparently Delaware public school officials are considering a proposed regulation that would allow students to self identify not only their gender, whether they're male-female or other, but also their race and to do so, potentially without any involvement at all from their parents.

Now our guest today is Peter Spriggs, Senior fellow for policy studies at our great friends and family research Council in Washington DC and he is also the editor of FRC's agenda setting booklet 25 profamily policy goals for the nation of Peter Sprague. Welcome back to family policy matters. It's great to have you with us on the show again.

While it's great to be back with you what I somewhat here. It's always a pleasure to discuss these pressing issues with you and as I said this one out of Delaware really, borders on what we might consider to be insanity, but considering the direction that our culture is shifting. I guess it's just kind of natural progression of those things tell us Peter if you would about regulation 225 the Delaware education officials are considering what is this regulation proposed well. They proposed nondiscrimination regulation for coming out of the state Department of Education in Delaware and so it forbids discrimination based on a whole range of protected day characteristics or categories as as is fairly typical with these things. But the thing that was quite startling and God that drew you know attention first from our our friends at the family policy Council there in Delaware and then from Todd Starnes.

Britt made this urban national media storage. It said that children are all students enrolled in a Delaware public school may self identify gender or race. Now, this idea of self identifying gender that's radical enough that but but that's sort of, that the core of the transgender movement, but this to make it even more absurd Delaware's regulation is adding race as something that a person can self identify.

So as Todd start put it in a in a column little white boys could begin to identify as little black girl you know it if they if they chose to well is really remarkable you've already mentioned this Peter but one of the most concerning issues. Here is the use of the term protected characteristics.

I explained that for us if you would.

And what does that encompassed from a legal perspective, what is that really mean well, there are certain characteristics, such as a race, national origin, and facts and religion are our typical categories that are well established and in law in both at both the federal level and in various state laws. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment covered.

Basically those key categories but in recent years, we've seen the number of of categories of protected characteristics expand greatly. And so, for example, in the Delaware one, they have separate categories for sex, gender, gender identity and gender expression for separate categories having to do with being male or female, and no definitions are offered for any of these terms and so it it it becomes a little bit ridiculous sometimes, especially when they characteristics are something that is purely subjective and self identified as were talking about here. Basically that you can choose to place yourself in one of these protected categories and so this proposal would shift from what we traditionally known as characteristics that are based on immutable characteristics or things that they do not change or that are as you said protected under the Constitution, such as religion to completely subjective measures where a person may identify a certain way is for a sexual race.

One day, or one minute. One day in the very next minute of the very next day decides that there someone else entirely, while another really concerning aspect of this proposal. Peter is the explicit admission that parents should have no part at all in the decisions their children are making or the discussions their children are having with school administrators about these matters of which are quite significant matters to say the least. What if any legal recourse to parents have to protect their children as well as their only rights in these types of circumstances. Well I think parents first of all need to assert their rights and and there's kind of a I would say a chain of command, so to speak, through which you should go. If you have concerns about this. As a parent and I discussed this in the pamphlet that we publish it. Family research Council called a parents guide to the transgender movement in education that's available on our website@frc.org, but certainly if you have a concern with how your particular classroom teacher is addressing this issue, or particular school. You can address go to the teacher.

Go to the principal and and discuss with them. Explain your concerns. If you don't get satisfaction there.

You might have to bring it then to the superintendent or to the to the local school board.

If you're not getting satisfaction from the ghetto administration and you did bring it to the school board then you may be at the point of making it a public issue rather than just a private discussion and it may help to form alliances with with other like-minded parents who are concerned about the issue and then it if you really feel your your rights are being violated and you're not getting any satisfaction through any sort of appeals for their conscience, then it may come to the point of having to go to one of the legal advocacy groups like the alliance defending freedom, and they have on. I think with a couple of occasions filed suit on behalf of of parents concerning these transgender issues will thanks for sharing that.

It will some believer in the chain of command to speak about as well.

Going to the teacher or the offending party initially and having a conversation with them and then follow things up that chain of command. If you don't find resolution to the issue. Satisfactory resolution to those issues, and in them as you say ultimately that may require a legal intervention. But I think it's it's so important that the parents who find themselves in the sort of unfortunate circumstances are do follow that chain of command, because it's just is the proper and appropriate way to approach it. And very often without going too far up the chain of command. People are able to find resolution to those issues now, but I guide you want to go at it and to reinforce the concern you raised in your question that that in this Delaware regulation.

Regulation 225. It talks about if a child wishes to you. Now self identify as a different gender or race. It talks about getting permission from the parents. But there's a long paragraph about about that saying that the school, but should consult with the child about how supportive the parent is right though it's kind of a Catch-22 because it uses the word permission but basically the policy here.

Here's how I would boil down this language. They will not ask for the parents permission.

If there is any chance that the parent will not grant permission and so it's really not it. It's written in a way such as that it appears to respect the parents, but it actually does exactly the opposite. It defers to the child and that the child says you know my parents will kill me. My parents will be angry with me.

My parents don't accept this, or they wouldn't accept it, then the school will not tell the parents and that's just outrageous because the parents are the ones who ultimately have both a legal and moral responsibility for the upbringing of their children.

You're listening to policy matters of resource to listen to our radio show online resources that will be a voice of persuasion in your community website family.org Peter from the perspective of one who works in our nations capital and who, has a Birdseye view of issues like this nationally. What connection, if any, do you see between these latest developments in Delaware and the bathroom privacy debates that have been taking place in states like North Carolina and Texas and also at the national level within the current presidential and the fellow presidential administration in recent months in recent years. Well, of course.

There is a direct connection.

The transgender movement has just exploded in recent years, but certainly we we've seen both positive and negative developments it last year the Obama Obama administration had issued a dear colleague letter to every school district in the country. Basically ordering them to adopt this radical pro-transgender policy nationwide under implicit threat, at least of losing federal funds wealth the new administration. The Trump administration reversed that has withdrawn that dear colleague letter and and so that is positive news. It means that school districts around the country can no longer appeal to the threat of federal funding being withdrawn as their excuse for adopting these radical policies. Unfortunately, the fact that the federal government is not coercing them to do. It doesn't mean a lot of states and individual school districts won't go ahead and do it anyway out of their own sense of political correctness. Now that you mention the bathrooms the bathrooms have become a flashpoint.

The bathrooms are hardly the only concern about the transgender movement, but there certainly a flashpoint, especially when were talking about schoolchildren.

These are not going to be people of had gender reassignment surgery that at least so far is not given to minors, and therefore you're talking about males who have all of the male genitalia being given the right to appear fully nude in the locker room and showers you know of our schools and and a lot of people are rightly outraged at that. Now the Delaware regulation is actually not as extreme as some other policies not as extreme as the Obama policy would've been because it doesn't sort of foreclose the possibility of some sort of special accommodation being given. However, as you know, this is an issue that is is clearly a concern all across the country and sought so that's the big, especially North Carolina, Peter. How should we as Christians respond when we encounter students and young people in general who may feel confused about who they are and how can we prepare ourselves and our children to reach out with authenticity and just a genuine love and compassion to these individuals as opposed to kind of engaging in a conflicting way that may end up doing more harm than good. Well II think you raise a very important point and and I was able to visit a few weeks ago with some physicians who actually been speaking out on this were quite expert on the medical issues and and one of them said something that I think that it is important they said we must understand that the pain these people experience is real. There's no question that someone who's experiencing gender dysphoria is in pain and they deserve our compassion but our compassion should not be affirming a fiction or or even you know it, encouraging them to adopt an identity which is fundamentally at odds with their natural reality of who they are.

That's not compassionate to do that, but that's certainly you know we should treat someone kindly without without any sort of cruelty or mockery. So II think it is a delicate balance. We should treat everyone with kindness, but at the same time we have to speak the truth in love will Peter I know that you and the family research Council have produced some very helpful resources for individuals who may encounter these issues.

I know you mentioned earlier in our conversation a pamphlet.

I don't want to give you another opportunity to let our listeners know where they can go to avail themselves of these really valuable and informative resources that you have.

Yes, if you go to our website@frc.org that's FRC for family research Council and then probably just put in the search engine.

The word transgender at our website and you'll come up with the pamphlet I mentioned a parents guide to the transgender movement in education as well as our other publications. More general publications on the transgender movement and and so forth.

Thank you so much for your time today for this very informative conversation.

The great resources that you and the family research Council have all pulled together for folks across the country to understand these issues better and how they can reach out and love and compassion, but also in in truth to individuals who are facing these confusing situations, whether individually or in their schools or in their communities were really grateful for you all for your partnership and all that you do for the betterment of families across our nation. Thank you and listening to policy matters to listen to show online resources and commission is important to families and website family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook