Senate Panel Recommends Bill That Would Force School Employees To Out Transgender Students to Parents
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CHARLESTON -- A bill recommended for passage by the state Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday would penalize teachers who do not report students when they ask to be called names or pronouns reflecting the gender they're identifying with.
Committee members recommended a committee substitute for Senate Bill 154 Thursday evening, prohibiting sexual orientation instruction in public schools, sending the bill to the full state Senate. The bill was first recommended by the Senate Education Committee last week.
SB 154 aims to restrict instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools. However, it does allow teachers to respond to student questions, refer to historical figures or groups when relevant, and address disciplinary matters like bullying.
The bill prohibits public school employees from knowingly providing false or misleading information to parents and/or guardians regarding a student's gender identity or intention to transition. The bill mandates that school employees report student requests for accommodations when affirming a gender identity different from their biological sex to school administrators, who must then inform the student's parents.
The bill establishes an administrative process for addressing violations, including a complaint procedure, school investigation, and potential sanctions against teachers. These sanctions include a written warning for the first offense, a 30-day suspension without pay for the second offense, and a recommendation for termination for the third offense.
An aggrieved party can file a complaint with the school, and if unsatisfied, appeal to the board of education, and subsequently file a lawsuit in civil court to seek statutory damages, compensatory damages, injunctive relief, court costs, and attorney fees.
Supporters of SB 154 said the bill is meant to support the rights of parents and guardians in raising and guiding children. They argue that children exploring their gender identity may be struggling with mental health issues and that parents should be aware of these struggles.
"I believe that parents by and large love their children, and I believe that most parents in this state deserve to have the ability and the respect to be told what is happening," said state Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson. "We are grateful for the work that (teachers) do, but they are not parents. To me, as a mother, something that concerns me very much is that anyone tries to get between me and my child."
Opponents of the bill argued that the bill could harm vulnerable students who may not feel safe disclosing their gender identity to their parents. Adam Wolfe, a Milken Award-winning math teacher at Nitro High School in Kanawha County, said the bill could cause an erosion of trust with his students.
"I think the bigger concern is the harm that could come to these kids…When we're talking about this, I see these kids that have had these conversations with me, and the conversations they've had about 'my dad will beat me if they were to find out,'" Wolfe said. "If they can't share something kind of as fundamental as how they identify with me, why are they going to share other things with me."
State Sen. Chris Rose, R-Monongalia, grilled Wolfe, accusing him of putting the authority of the teacher over the authority of the parent.
"How is it justified to keep that from the parent when the parent's parental rights supersede everyone with their child," Rose asked. "How is it justified to keep that information from a parent knowing that their child is having those mental issues?"
"I am not pushing an ideology on a student," Wolfe said. "I have many kids that ask to go by nicknames. I don't ask them if that nickname is related to gender...My official first name is Kevin. I asked teachers when I was in school to call me Adam, not Kevin. And what that did for me is I remembered the teachers that remembered to call me Adam. I had trust in those teachers. I learned best from those teachers because I knew they cared about me."
Rucker, when questioning Wolfe, compared a teacher choosing to not inform administrators about school children identifying as transgender as "groomers."
"How do you define someone who's doing grooming behavior? What would you call that?" Rucker asked.
"I think that's a very different situation … that's somebody who's acting predatory," Wolfe said.
"And acting predatory by developing a relationship with the child that is excluding the parents," Rucker said.
"Okay, but in your situation, you're talking about grooming to take advantage of a kid to assault a child, be that physical or otherwise," Wolfe said. "I don't think calling them by a different name that they've chosen is anywhere related to that."
"I was deeply disturbed to hear Sen. Patricia Rucker compare a witness who testified before the committee -- a dedicated, exemplary math teacher -- to a child predator who grooms children," said Jack Jarvis, communications director for Fairness West Virginia, in a statement Thursday night. "What kind of world are we living in when our elected officials feel so comfortable making such outrageous accusations? Those comments were beneath the dignity of Sen. Rucker's position as a public servant."
State Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, chided his fellow senators for focusing so much time on social issues, such as transgenderism and pronouns this session. The Senate Judiciary Committee was also considering a bill Thursday evening to add hormone therapy to the ban on medication gender affirming care for minors.
"I've heard the word 'biological sex' more than anything else that I can remember. It seems like every single committee meeting, more so than jobs, more so than teachers' pay, more so than schools closing across this state, more so than opioid treatment, more so than 6,000 kids who are in foster care right now," Garcia said. "Maybe if we would add 'biological sex' to a bill that did something like that, it would run."