Myth vs Fact on Hiding Social Transition of Minors from Guardians and Parents

Myth

Fact

The school must keep this secret because parents may not accept a child’s self-diagnosis as transgender and resist social transition.

It is not their secret to keep. Supporting a child to keep a secret from a parent is never a good policy. A child experiencing gender distress needs parental involvement because social transition is a major and potentially life altering procedure. The parents have valuable knowledge about the child the school may not be aware of. 71% of registered voters support legislation requiring schools to tell parents if their child wants to “change their gender identity at school”.

If parents find out that a child identifies as transgender, the child may face emotional or physical abuse at home.

Connecticut has strong protections against emotional or physical abuse in the home.  It is wrong to pre-judge parents or guardians as bigots or transphobic. Children very often say “my parents will kill me” without meaning it literally. It would be better for the school to guide the child through this apprehension, instead of playing the let’s keep it a secret game.  

Allowing children to transition, even without parental knowledge, is a lifesaving action.

Transitioning has little impact on the suicide rate. Suicide rates are extremely high for young and older individuals suffering from gender dysphoria. Many times underlying mental health or social issues are missed that are causing the dysphoria. “Affirmative Only” care has now come under strong criticism: https://www.nytimes.com/.../transgender-children-gender...

Social transitioning (altering pronouns, assuming stereotypes of opposite sex, wearing binders, tucking) is neutral and does not have long range effects on the child. If they desire, the child can merely stop transitioning.

Not true. Social transition can set a trajectory for life altering decisions and minor children are not capable of making that decision without family. Many robust studies have found that without social or medical transition, 80-90% of children cease to want to transition after puberty.^[1]  If transition starts, one study showed that there is 94% persistence.^[2] 

Doctors all agree that affirmative gender transition is the best option for all children. Therefore, schools are just going with the facts.

Not true. Even the New York Times is starting to publish articles against “affirmative only” care. https://www.nytimes.com/.../transgender-children-gender...The medical associations that have endorsed social affirmation, puberty blockers and sex-change hormones and surgery have been co-opted by activists on this issue.  USPATH’s first transgender President resigned in 2021 over social and medical affirmation for minors. Discussion panels have been rejected and the associations refuse to acknowledge doctors and researchers who dissent.^[3]

The child is mentally mature enough to make the decision to transition. The school should respect that decision and fully affirm the child’s feelings.

A child is not mature enough to make this decision on their own. In state law, the ability of a minor child to act alone in medical, contractual, civil, and criminal matters is very limited. The belief that a child does not have the same functional maturity and reasoning as an adult is ingrained in many of our state laws.  The exceptions to this common understanding were only established after legislative hearings and debate.

A child of any age cannot just walk into a school and inform the administration they want to transition. There must be more requirements before the school begins affirming the child’s new sexual identity.

There are no requirements under current state guidelines. The guidelines encourage immediate affirmation. No documentation from a mental health or medical professional is required. The transition is completely up to the child and school administration. If the parents become aware of the situation, and do not agree with the transition, the school is to follow the desires of the child. We also know that Connecticut has paid for minor children to have their genitals mutilated as a treatment for gender dysphoria.