Waukesha School Board Adopts Controversial Parental Rights Resolution

WAUKESHA, WI — The School District of Waukesha Board of Education adopted a resolution on Wednesday that outlined a list of "parental rights" amid controversy from some who say the measure could be harmful to LGBTQ students.

After public remarks, members of the board discussed and then voted 8-0 to adopt the resolution with amendments for grammar. One part of the resolution that especially came under scrutiny said district staff should need parental permission to call a minor student something other than their biological sex's pronouns or a different name or nickname. The resolution did say staff can use "commonly shortened or abbreviated full names."

Ashley Harrison, who identified themselves as a recent graduate from Waukesha North, spoke to the board "on behalf of the kids who can only be out to the world when they are at school."

"For them, I think that the parental bill of rights on the table poses a danger," Harrison told the board. "Because without the privacy of being able to spread their identities only to those who can be trusted with it, there no longer exists a place where these students can truly feel safe expressing who they are. It turns teachers against students, and I guarantee that neither of those parties wants any of this."

Read the full resolution as it was proposed:

As a report by WISN12 pointed out, some members of the board tried to confirm that students' identities wouldn't necessarily be "outed" to their families under the resolution. Outing commonly refers to revealing someone's sexual preference or gender identity.

One board member, Corey Montiho, noted that "outing" a student "can be a dangerous thing, because parents, as this resolution talks about, have the right to their own ideas and how they raise their children."

Montiho said, though, he didn't see anything in the resolution that obligates staff to notify parents.

The resolution's adoption came after around an hour of comments from parents, teachers and former district students and after over an hour of further discussion by the board. Some called the measure political, including Sarah Harrison, who referred to it as "manufactured outrage."

"This is a political tactic 100 percent based on speaking points from national Republicans," Harrison said. "This does not come from organic issues in the Waukesha school district."

Jay McDivvit, who told the board he has two kids in the district, said the resolution is "completely unnecessary" adding that the U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions already protect his parental rights. McDivvit also told an anecdote about a friend he grew up with named Edward and how a single teacher's simple actions helped save his friend's life.

"This policy would sever that lifeline for kids who have to go to school to find adults who will love them and support them for who they are and who they are becoming," McDivvit said. "This policy would have killed Edward, and it will kill kids like him."

Still, some praised the resolution, which received some applause when it was unanimously adopted.

Suzi Neitzke thanked the board for "following through with what we elected you to do."

"I don't believe that my right to parent my minor child is a political issue," Neitzke said, "in fact, it's the opposite. Those who want the issues related to my child to be secret are interested in doing it so they can implement social and political ideas into children's lives."

Keith Best — who is listed on the Waukesha GOP as a grassroots outreach director— said "mainly because of the current makeup of this board, things are headed in the right direction." Best told the meeting that he supported the "parents' bill of rights" adding that the board should "ignore the attacks coming from a very vocal minority. End the woke. Stay strong; Waukesha strong."

You can watch the entire meeting streamed on the Waukesha School District Youtube channel.

See also: 'Controversial' Sign Ban Could Restrict Waukesha Student Speech: ACLU