This School District Refuses to Turn Over Instructional Materials Presented in ‘Gender Transitioning’ Session — In Violation of State Law

America First Legal (AFL) represents a concerned parent who has asked a Texas school district and a homosexual advocacy organization to turn over instructional materials made during a presentation in which the organization’s staff member told school counselors to refer students to the organization without telling parents.

Parent Christine Parizio alleged that the Montrose Center, which provides services for the “LGBTQ community,” told Clear Creek Independent School District counselors to refer minors who want to “transition” to the center instead of notifying parents. AFL also reported that the staff member, Laura Kanter, has a “known history of vulgar and abusive social media posts.”

Kantor showed a PowerPoint slide presentation during a virtual training session to school counselors. AFL has asked for those slides, but the school district and the Montrose Center refuse to turn them over.

On behalf of Parizio, AFL demanded that they “turn over materials instructing school counselors to secretly direct children considering ‘gender transitions’ to a private company.” They allege that the district and Kantor have violated the Texas Public Information Act and the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment by refusing. In Texas, parents have the right to inspect all instructional materials given to teachers and used to analyze or evaluate issues like “gender identity.”

To the school district’s credit, the director of counseling and student services told (PDF) counselors via email to follow law and policies, that these should “guide their work, rather than the practices and graphics shared by the Montrose Center,” but still won’t release the materials as required by state law. From AFL:

As both Kanter and the CCISD knew or should have known, secret referrals unlawfully interfere with a parent’s fundamental right to control his or her child’s care, custody, and education, and violate federal laws mandating that prior parental consent is required for any psychiatric or psychological examination or treatment designed to affect a child’s behavioral, emotional, or attitudinal characteristics.

To date, CCISD has willfully disregarded the rule of law and arrogantly refused to make public the PowerPoint slides used by the Montrose Center during this taxpayer-funded training on the pretext that Montrose Center claims them as confidential intellectual property.

Do you like this post? Sign up for more!