Standing Alone in Public Defiance

Ethical Educator

Scenario: A state’s governor and his state education agency release their “model policies” for parents’ rights regarding the names and pronouns their children use and counseling on gender identity. A suburban district superintendent publicly vows to defy these restrictive policies, saying his district will adhere to its own policies that protect the rights of transgender students. Saying the new state policies are distressing some students, he intends to make additional resources available for transgender, nonbinary and gender-fluid youth. Are his actions in defiance of state policy appropriate?