A school in Pennsylvania, United States, has agreed to discontinue a policy mandating teachers and staff to hide the gender transitioning of students from parents.
Christian legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), has revealed that the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) will rescind Policy 103.2, a regulation on LGBT students, following a letter from the Independence Law Center (ILC) and ADF. The entities sent the letter to CCIU officials on behalf of a client connected to Brandywine Virtual Academy.
The policy forbids school staff from revealing information that discloses students’ “transgender status or gender non-conforming presentation to others.” According to the policy, unless it is legally required to do so, or the child gives consent, these restrictions extend to the student’s parents/guardians or other Intermediate Unit personnel. According to the ADF, it also requires members of staff to use a child’s preferred name and pronouns and to maintain a school database noting whether a parent knew about their child’s transition at school. The database informed staff which families they should conceal information from, about the student’s preferred name and pronouns.
“Transgender and gender non-conforming students have the right to discuss and express their gender identity and expression openly, and to decide when, with whom, and how much to share such private information,” the policy emphasizes.
The ADF and ILC also report that any staff member who disobeyed the policy was subject to disciplinary action. In their letter, the groups say that these stipulations violate the First and 14th Amendments.
Specifically, they argued that the policy is a violation of the free speech rights and religious freedom of any staff member who rejects the mandate to use a name or pronoun that does not correspond with a child’s sex on grounds such as religion.
They also say that it “interferes with the parental rights of any parent who gives specific instructions about the use of pronouns for their child because it requires CCIU staff to ignore that instruction.”
“We respectfully request that you immediately rescind policy 103.2 as provisions contained therein violate the Constitution,” they said, “ Second, we request that you inform teachers in writing that any previous written and oral instruction to keep gender identification confidential from the minor’s parents/guardians is to be disregarded. Please confirm in writing by May 21, 2026, following your board meeting on May 20th, that the policy has been rescinded and that staff have been notified.”
Commenting on the case, Independence Law Center Chief Counsel, Randall Wenger, says that the institution unlawfully interfered with parents’ fundamental right to make decisions concerning their children’s care.
“Our client rightly advocated for the best interests of parents, children, and teachers alike, and now we’re pleased that district officials have rescinded their policy that violated multiple constitutionally protected freedoms.”
