OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Oshkosh Area School District is getting some heat for changing a section of one of its administrative guidelines. The policy relates to students who are transgender and who are nonconforming to gender role stereotypes.
As a result of the district’s change to Administrative Guideline 2260E, OASD staff members will no longer have to get parental consent before calling a student by their preferred name and/or pronouns.
“That’s something that we’ve reviewed and have found some difficulty with sometimes with staff engaging with students,” OASD superintendent Bryan Davis said. “We really want to make sure that we’re advocating for our students and with our students.”
Notification of this change came in a memo sent only to staff on Tuesday, pending Neola’s processing of it.
“It was sent to the staff and it was not sent to the parents, and I guess I would ask myself, ‘Why would you not inform the parents?’” concerned Oshkosh resident Chad Radtke said. “That seems like the first thing I would do!”
The district did send notification to families Friday, however, once the change was officially implemented.
And some praised the district for amending its policy.
“Someone’s identity and their expression is so important to their core values and who they are, and I think this is important because now they have that comfort, that safety that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Oshkosh city councilmember Aaron Wojciechowski.
But the change also got many people upset.
“It was just another sign that things are going in the wrong direction,” Radtke said. “From my perspective, and it’s hard to see it any other way, almost as if they’re deliberately riling up the parents to see how far they can push things; how many things they can kinda sneak past .”
Almost immediately, the common misconception on social media was that this meant that the district wouldn’t inform parents if educators were aware a child wanted to be called by a different name or go by different pronouns.
Davis says that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It’s actually just the opposite of that,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for our kids to feel valued and to open up in conversations and for our staff to be able to validate that, and many students need support in these difficult conversations, being able to engage with their parents and family members.”
And while some may call the move illegal, the district says it’s well within its rights.
“I know there was some concern just related to the change,” Davis acknowledged. “There’s a case in Madison that is being reviewed, at this point, that’s my understanding; our situation here is different, so my understanding of the Madison case is that student consent was required in order for parents to be informed – we don’t have that. We want to make sure we have open communication with our students and with our families, as we’re moving forward.”
Parents will still need to provide documentation of a legal name change in order to change a student’s name in the district’s computer system.
OASD says it hopes this change in policy will empower students to be able to have conversations about their identity and that it will create an inclusive space in its schools. It says it also hopes that will then promote the conversation with their families and communities.
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