On gender identity in schools, Maryland school board candidates are divided

By Ela Jalil and Devin Etta

The culture war erupting around the nation about transgender rights is being fought in Maryland’s school districts, too.

School boards that set policy for those districts face a dilemma: Do they prioritize a student’s autonomy over their identity or the parents’ right to know who that child really is?

In previous years, some school districts enacted policies that allowed transgender or gender-nonconforming students to choose their pronouns, while also not informing the parents of their decisions.

Yet in deep blue Maryland, 32 of 74 school board candidates who responded to a Local News Network survey indicated that these policies go a step too far. Nineteen of those candidates are running for board seats in the 10 Maryland counties that have chapters of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that stresses parents’ rights.

“Parents should be fully informed about everything happening at school involving their child. There should NEVER be a situation where information is withheld from parents,” wrote Carroll County school board candidate Kristen Zihmer, who has been endorsed by Moms for Liberty.

A slightly smaller number of candidates – 29 – prioritize creating a “safe and inclusive” environment for students, even if that requires withholding information from parents.

Anne Arundel County school board member Joanna Bache Tobin, who is seeking re-election, said students succeed in school when they have a sense of belonging.

“Enabling students to determine for themselves how they wish to be addressed and referred to is critical to that safe and inclusive environment, and therefore to student achievement,” said Tobin, a consultant and parent in the Anne Arundel County public school system.

Yet the issue remains sensitive. As if to prove it, 13 candidates either refused to answer the LNN survey question about pronouns or did so in a way that did not take a stand on the issue.

Pronouns: A history

Although discourse and vitriol around pronouns have become increasingly common in the past few years, the usage of “they” as a gender-neutral personal pronoun can be dated back to the 14th century in a French poem, according to a video guide from LBGTQ@MIT.

Centuries later, Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary added “they” as a singular nonbinary pronoun in 2019, citing its prevalence in discourse and rebutting the common argument that opponents have used: that they/them pronouns are grammatically incorrect because it’s applying singular use to a plural word.

The Biden administration recently made headlines when it rewrote regulations under Title IX – the federal ban on sex discrimination – to cover bias against gender identity or sexual orientation. This federal civil rights law prevents sex-based discrimination in any school that receives federal funding.

This rewrite would require that schools refer to students by the pronouns they use. However, federal lawsuits have blocked the change at least temporarily in 26 Republican-led states.

In contrast, many counties in Maryland have embraced a progressive policy on pronouns. For the 2020-2021 school year, Montgomery County Public Schools drafted a guideline for student gender identity that encourages employees to make support plans for transgender and gender nonconforming students. This approach allows students to decide on their identity at school, whether it be their preferred name or pronouns.

“Prior to contacting a student’s parent/guardian, the principal or identified staff member should speak with the student to ascertain the level of support the student either receives or anticipates receiving from home,” the guideline reads.

That policy also prompted a federal lawsuit. Conservative parent groups argued the guidelines violate the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of due process under the law by restricting the parents’ ability to direct care and control education for their minor children. A group of three parents took their argument to court with the support of the conservative National Legal Foundation.

A federal court dismissed the case in 2022, and a federal appeals court did the same the following year. The courts ruled that the parents didn’t have legal standing to have their case heard. The parents appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, and the court dismissed the case again in May.

However, the parent group noted in its petition that similar lawsuits have been filed across the nation. And Frederick County candidate Jaime Brennan, the former chairwoman of the county’s Moms for Liberty chapter, argues that such policies remain in legal jeopardy.

“We are seeing districts across the country be sued for policies like this,” Brennan said. “I think it is only a matter of time before they are subject to huge judgments, not to mention the defense costs for these bad policies.”

‘Age-inappropriate’

Elena Brewer, a school board candidate from St. Mary’s County, said she believes that allowing the usage of pronouns diminishes the rights of other students because it is “age-inappropriate” language. Her campaign issues consist of parental rights, education not indoctrination and age-appropriate curricula.

“Schools are for education, not sexualization,” said Brewer, one of 19 Maryland candidates endorsed this year by the 1776 Project PAC, a conservative group that emphasizes parental rights and criticizes “woke” ideology.

For others, policies of nondisclosure undermine the relationship between parents and children.

“If we are not informing parents of students’ decisions about their preferred pronouns and maybe questions about their identity, what other aspects of their school life are we not informing parents?” said Ann O’Connor, a school board candidate from Talbot County, who also received a 1776 Project PAC endorsement.

This belief in parental rights stands at the center of a conservative movement that says it is trying to save public school students from liberal indoctrination.

Howard County school board candidate Trent Kittleman said that like other conservative candidates, she strongly opposes policies that allow schools to withhold information from parents when a child chooses alternate pronouns..  Kittleman is a former state delegate who lost re-election in 2022 and asked to be taken off the Moms for Liberty rolls when she began her school board campaign, Baltimore Fishbowl reported in March.

“It is imperative to recognize that parents hold the ultimate responsibility for raising their children; attempts to undermine this fundamental role are both misguided and potentially harmful,” Kittleman said in response to the LNN candidate questionnaire.

Kittleman’s website says that she fought against progressive legislation for eight years in the Maryland legislature and that she believes in a system that prioritizes parental involvement.

‘Safe and supported’

The use of gender-neutral pronouns is increasingly common, with recent studies showing that 56% of Generation Z respondents know someone who uses gender neutral pronouns, a National Institutes of Health article said. Advocates of the approach say using an individual’s correct pronouns can act as a sign of respect.

Allegany County school board candidate Max Green said it’s not the role of teachers to tell parents what pronouns students are using in school.

“Every student deserves to feel safe and supported in school, regardless of their identity,” Green said. “Using preferred pronouns fosters an inclusive environment and allows students to feel accepted. Importantly, this practice causes no harm to others — it simply reflects respect for the individual.”

Multiple candidates cited the importance of respecting pronouns for the safety and health of transgender or gender non-conforming students.

Montgomery County incumbent candidate Lynne Harris emphasized the vulnerability of LGBTQ+ youth to bullying or rejection from family.

“I am proud that Montgomery County Public Schools policy is to provide a welcoming and supportive space for students, to support them in expressing their gender identity, and to partner with families in supporting LGBTQ+ students EXCEPT when the student tells us they will not be safe if family are informed,” Harris said.

The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ+ youths, found in a 2020 national survey that transgender and nonbinary individuals who had their pronouns respected by all or most people in their lives attempted suicide at half the rate of those that didn’t have their pronouns respected.

“If we can save lives by using preferred pronouns and names, then it is incumbent on us to do so,” said Jen Mallo, a Howard County Board of Education member who is running for re-election. “It is not only a good thing to do, but also the right thing to do.”

Several candidates also said it is OK for schools to not disclose a student’s preferred pronouns to parents. They said doing so makes school a safe space for students.

“Unfortunately, there are still situations where a child faces being kicked out of their home or ostracized for coming out to their family. Our duty as a school system is to support the child,” said Erica McFarland, a school board candidate from Anne Arundel County.

Despite the debate over pronouns, none of these candidates surveyed chose gender identity and pronouns as the most significant issue affecting schools today. In Carroll County – where conservative school board members have voted to remove 21 books from library shelves – candidate Muri Lynn Dueppen said it’s time for the board to focus on something else.

“The focus of the board needs to return to academics instead of the deeply divisive culture wars,” Dueppen said.