Teachers across Idaho are being instructed on how to identify and report trans students under their care. This comes after a law passed earlier this year mandated that certain professions responsible for looking after children would be legally required to report signs of social transition to that child's parents.
A handout for teachers at one Idaho school district obtained by The Needle shows the list of student behaviors that must be reported immediately. This handout lists signs of social transition, such as changing pronouns, alongside suicidal thoughts or abuse in the child's home.
Under the newly enacted “Pediatric Secretive Transitions Parental Rights Act”, mandatory reporters must treat a social transition with a similar level of urgency as abuse or suicidal ideation.
If the mandatory reporter learns that a child is socially transitioning (or just suspects that the child is doing so), and that mandatory reporter fails to inform the child's parents within 72 hours. Failure to report under Idaho's mandated reporting laws is a misdemeanor, and it can be punished with fines of up to $100,000 and/or have their professional license suspended.
One Idaho teacher whom The Needle spoke to (who asked to be anonymous) detailed how they were now required to report requests from students to socially transition. At their yearly meeting to discuss their responsibilities as a mandated reporter, the usual topics of abuse and suicidal ideation were discussed, but social transition was added to the list for the first time.
According to the handout they were given, social transition was defined as requests to "Change pronouns; Be referred to by a name other then the student's legal name or a derivative thereof; Use a restroom, locker room, or overnight accommodation designated for the opposite sex; [or participate] in an athletic team or any other sex-separated activity designated for the opposite sex."
They were instructed that reporting students for coming to them while doing these things would trigger the law, activating their responsibilities as mandated reporters. They would then be legally bound to inform the child's parents, even against the child's will.
The source said that the training felt rushed, and that "as far as I know, this is the only thing they are giving us on it".
This teacher is now required to report many signs of social transition, as is every teacher in Idaho.
The increasingly hostile atmosphere has meant that there are fewer openly trans kids in the school than there once were. A few years ago, there were "3 to 7" openly trans kids there.
Many of those kids were going by different names and pronouns. If those kids were still in the school today, and asked to be called by their new names and/or pronouns, the teacher would have to report them to their parents.
Today, not one kid at this school meets the definition of youth social transition laid out in the handout.
As far as the teacher knows, they are not required to report every potential sign that a student is or could be trans. The law says that "A covered entity shall not aid or abet a child's efforts to socially transition without first obtaining written consent from the child's parent." This school is interpreting this to mean that only requests to involve the staff in social transition have to be reported.
This is a narrow reading of the law; one which might keep trans kids safe.
While the school no longer has any openly trans children, there are still signs of gender-nonconformity... just none that meet the threshold for mandatory reporting. The teacher said that:
I had a male student in my mentoring group come in today wearing purple eyeshadow. There has been no request or requirement for me to call home about it, nor do I plan to.
Under the training to detect signs of social transition, this is less than what is needed to mandate a report. It is also the most visible sign of gender nonconformity in a school that used to have a sizable amount of trans kids.
The source did not want the original handout to be publicly shared so as to protect their privacy. However, they did consent to share the text.
The following handout was given to all teachers at this school:
Mandatory Reporting
Abuse reporting
-All [REDACTED] Employees are mandated reporters
-Must report within 24-hours of disclosure
-We notify CPS AND Law Enforcement
-Consult-come find [REDACTED]
Parental Rights - Pediatric Secretive [Transitions] Parental Rights Act
-Change pronouns;
-Be referred to by a name other then the student's legal name or a derivative thereof;
-Use a restroom, locker room, or overnight accommodation designated for the opposite sex;
-Participate in an athletic team or any other sex-separated activity designated for the opposite sex.
72 Hours to Report
Suicide
If a student reports thoughts of suicide, report to [REDACTED]. From there, a risk assessment will be completed to determine risk level.
SEE SOMETHING... SAY SOMETHING
For more on this law, you can read our reporting on it here:
Jane Migliara Brigham
