Education

Major School Districts Require Parent Permission For Over-The-Counter Meds But Not Gender Transitions: REPORT

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Some of the nation’s largest school districts require students to receive parental permission for over-the-counter medication but not when changing their gender at school, according to a Wednesday report.

Eight of the nation’s 20 largest school districts, which together enroll 2.5 million students, do not notify parents when students change their pronouns and name on school documents, according to a Defense of Freedom Institute report. The New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools are among the school districts that require parental permission in order to dispense over-the-counter medication to students but not for gender changes.

“These policies imply that children who are not yet mature enough to decide when they need an aspirin are mature enough to decide whether to go through the school day as male, female or something else entirely,” Angela Morabito, the author of the report, wrote.

Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools in North Carolina, Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland and the School District of Philadelphia are among the eight largest schools in the country that require parental permission for over-the-counter medication but not for a student’s change in gender at school, the report showed.

Outside of the eight major school districts, 13 additional systems require parental permission for over-the-counter medicine but not for a student to make a change to their pronouns and name at school, the report showed.

The Hawaii Department of Education, which enrolls 171,600 students and is among the 20 largest school systems in the country, requires that parents meet with school administration before a change to students’ pronouns and name is made, according to the report. The school system, however, does not allow staff to provide over-the-counter medication to students.

“Parents thought they could take for granted that schools would respect their rights,” Morabito told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “After all, if a tummy ache merits a phone call home, then surely, so does a child’s rejection of his or her own body. But this is what happens without transparency in education: Ideologies take over, parents get shut out, mental health issues spike, and student achievement falls.”

The New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools, Prince George’s County Public Schools, the School District of Philadelphia and the Hawaii Department of Education did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.