By Guy Page
A national education watchdog group says dozens of Vermont school districts have policies that may allow student gender transitions to be kept from parents, according to a report released April 20.
Defending Education identified 37 Vermont school districts and supervisory unions — representing 199 schools and more than 52,000 students — with policies it says permit staff to withhold information about a student’s gender identity from parents in certain circumstances.
The report also states that many of the same policies allow students to participate in sports and use facilities based on their gender identity.
The group’s findings are based in part on guidance issued by the Vermont Agency of Education, specifically its 2016 “Best Practices for Schools Regarding Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students.” That document has been used as a model for local district policies across the state, according to the report. The 2016 policy can be viewed, and downloaded, in the report.
Among the districts listed are Burlington School District, Champlain Valley Unified School District, Montpelier Roxbury School District, and Winooski School District, along with numerous supervisory unions statewide. See full list below.
The report raises concerns about parental notification and involvement. It says some guidance instructs school personnel to prioritize student privacy, particularly if disclosure to parents is believed to pose a risk to the student.
The Vermont Agency of Education guidance emphasizes creating supportive environments for transgender and gender-nonconforming students, including respecting students’ names and pronouns and ensuring access to programs and facilities.
The report does not evaluate how frequently such policies are applied in practice, nor does it include responses from Vermont school officials or state education leaders. VDC has reached out to several of the schools listed below and will publish results from them, or other districts, as they are received.
The districts cited in the Defending Education report include (see policies by clicking on link):
- Addison Central School District
- Addison Northwest School District
- Barre Unified Union School District
- Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union
- Burlington School District
- Caledonia Central Supervisory Union
- Central Vermont Supervisory Union
- Champlain Valley Unified School District
- Echo Valley Community Schools
- Essex North Supervisory Union 19
- First Branch Unified School District
- Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union
- Grand Isle Supervisory Union
- Granville-Hancock Unified District
- Hartford School District
- Mill River Unified Union School District
- Milton Town School District
- Missisquoi Valley School District
- Montpelier Roxbury School District
- Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District
- North Country Supervisory Union
- Orange East Supervisory Union
- Orleans Central Supervisory Union
- Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union
- Rochester-Stockbridge Unified District
- Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union
- Saint Johnsbury School District
- Slate Valley Unified School District
- South Burlington School District
- Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union
- Springfield School District
- White River Valley Supervisory Union
- Windham Central Supervisory Union
- Windham Northeast Supervisory Union
- Windham Southeast Supervisory Union
- Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union
- Winooski School District