Anchorage School Board member Dave Donley proposed a policy Thursday at a committee meeting that would make teachers mandatory reporters of student pronouns and nicknames.
Speaking to the proposed policy, Donley stated that current guidance was confusing and operated on the presumption that parents would not be notified.
Currently, there is no legislation prohibiting teachers from informing parents about student pronouns and nicknames and, according to school board member Andy Holleman, teachers are likely to discuss parental notification with a student who is dealing with any issue that comes up, including those surrounding gender.
Holleman spoke in opposition to the proposed policy, saying that teachers are given “some latitude to make a decision,” about parental notification and that students should be able to operate under the presumption that they can talk to someone at the school about something that is bothering them without an immediate call home.
Current guidelines empower teachers to not immediately share the information if they feel it would endanger a student’s physical or mental well-being or if they want to respect a child’s request for privacy. Parents could also simply ask their child’s teacher or their child such questions.
Several people testified against making changes to policy at a meeting in September. Donley’s proposed policy is one of the latest pushed by so-called parents’ rights groups, such as Moms for Liberty, known for advocating against LGBTQ+ rights and curriculum discussing race and ethnicity. Alaskans also came out heavily against similar legislation introduced by Gov. Mike Dunleavy when hundreds of people testified against his proposed bill.
Moms for Liberty suffered a slew of election losses in November as communities pushed back on the culture wars, book bans and policies targeting LGBTQ+ youth such as those being pushed by Donley and Dunleavy.
Continued discussion of the proposed changes was postponed until Jan. 11. At this time, Donley does not have a second on the motion and without one, the proposed policy cannot be introduced for the board’s consideration.
