Anne Arundel was one of the first districts in Maryland to adopt a supportive framework for trans and gender nonconforming students. But when the Trump Administration came knocking, they changed course. Revised guidelines given to teachers by the district instruct teachers to forcibly deadname a child upon a parent’s request, or worse—out them. Now, some teachers are reportedly saying that they will simply not comply with the new directive.
For years, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) students of high school age had been able to request accommodations, such as access to different bathrooms or a new name, independently. Moreover, teachers were not allowed to “out” students to their parents.
This policy attracted the ire of one unsupportive family of a transgender student, plus the lawyers at America First Legal—the far-right activist-legal group founded by Stephen Miller as a counterweight to the “radical” ACLU. In early July, they filed a lawsuit against the district, arguing the rule violated the family’s parental rights to dictate the gender identity and expression of their child.
Then, on July 27, the Trump Administration launched an attack. The Justice Department and the ironically titled Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) at the Education Department announced that they would be taking joint “enforcement action” against Anne Arundel County. The basis, they said, was that “the District improperly classifies information about a student’s so-called ‘gender identity’ as ‘confidential medical information’ that cannot be shared with parents.”
They further allege this practice constitutes an infringement of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
By Aug. 19, Superintendent Mark T. Bedell issued a letter to AACPS families notifying them that the district handbook was changing for the upcoming start of the school year. “Nothing in this regulation shall be construed to limit or otherwise interfere with parents’/guardians’ rights under FERPA, including the right to inspect and review their student’s complete education record,” the new policy reads. “Under FERPA, education records generally include all records, files, documents, and other materials maintained by AACPS that contain information directly related to a student.”
What this change would look like for teachers, in practice, was a mystery—until The Banner, a Maryland newsroom, got ahold of training materials that the district presented to teachers.
“If the parent does not agree, the school must comply with the parent’s request, including preferred name, group bathroom use and pronouns,” a district slideshow presentation said.
In other words, parents gained the ability to force teachers to deadname and misgender their students, or otherwise place them in certain bathrooms, locker rooms, or other gendered accommodations, even if it puts the student in danger.
“The protection of our students’ dignity and their right to be treated with fairness and equity at school is among our highest moral obligations as educators,” AACPS teachers’ union president Kristina Korona wrote in an email to union members, The Banner reports. “More than one member has told us that they will not comply.”
The students poised to be the most at-risk are those who have already adopted a new name or gender marker at school. Teachers don’t appear to be compelled to proactively “out” every single trans student; they simply can’t use a new name or grant them access to certain gendered facilities without parental sign-off.
But because the new rule prevents withholding records from parents, those who already came out at school—under the impression that information about their gender identity would be safeguarded—may now be outed by a parental records request for their historical student data.
When teachers are forced to out students to unsupportive families, it puts them in a position of potentially instigating child abuse, pushing students into a mental health crisis, and interfering with private familial relationships. If interpreted strictly, this also puts teachers in the uncomfortable position of potentially having to play gender police, as they must navigate trying to determine which requests from students are “gender affirming” in nature—for example, if a student named “Samantha” asks to be called “Sam” for short.
Critically, no Maryland or federal law explicitly requires deadnaming students.
But the damage may already be done. As per The Banner, Korona told union members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
“The protection of our students’ dignity and their right to be treated with fairness and equity at school is among our highest moral obligations as educators,” AACPS teachers’ union president Kristina Korona wrote in an email to union members, The Banner reports. “More than one member has told us that they will not comply.”
These are everyday heroes!!! 🦹♀️🦹🏾♀️🦹🏽♀️🦹🏻♀️
Resistance like this is sometimes a quiet but hugely meaningful act of integrity, kindness and compassion. May these teachers find their own protection as they aim to protect their students.