A history teacher at a California high school has admitted helping students change their gender identities without their parents’ knowledge.
Olivia Garrison, who is non-binary, told the New York Times that her job as a teacher is “to protect children” — “sometimes from their own parents.”
“My job, which is a public service, is to protect children,” Garrison said. “Sometimes they need protection from their own parents.”
Garrison teaches at Del Oro High School in the Kern High School District (KHSD), which has a form that allows students to change their preferred name and gender tag without a parent’s signature.
The history teacher, who previously posted on TikTok about her “queer safe space classroom,” was one of dozens of educators, officials, and parents the New York Times spoke to about gender transition in schools.
Olivia Garrison, who previously posted on TikTok about her “Queer Safe Space classroom,” has admitted helping students change their gender identity without their parents’ knowledge
Clementine Morales, a former Garrison student who is now 19, told the Times that they came out as non-binary at school when they couldn’t at home.
“I had to look for parenting figures in other people who weren’t my parents,” Morales said.
Schools have come under pressure to address the needs of transgender youth, but dozens of parents whose children were socially transformed at school told The Times they felt “slandered by educators who seemed to think that they would know what is best for their children.”
Jessica Bradshaw, of Torrance, Calif., told the Times that she learned about her 15-year-old’s social transformation after reading her preferred name on a spreadsheet.
“There was never a word from anyone on paper and in the classroom telling us that our daughter was our son,” she said, accepting her child’s decision but resenting the school for making her feel to be a bad mother .
“It felt like a parental stab in the back from the school system. It should have been a decision we made as a family.
The student told the Times his school gave him a space to be himself, which he otherwise lacked.
He said he had tried to come out to his parents before, but they didn’t take it seriously, so he relied on his school for support.
“I wish schools didn’t have to hide it from parents or do it without parental permission, but it can be important,” he said.
“Schools are just trying to do what is best to ensure student safety and comfort. When you’re trans, you feel like you’re in danger all the time. Even though my parents accepted, I was still scared and that’s why the school didn’t tell them.’
Garrison teaches at Del Oro High School in the Kern High School District
The district has a form that students can use to change their preferred name and gender without a parent’s signature
The student attends a public school, which is one of many that allows students to make a social transition without their parents’ permission.
The social transition could involve a change in their name, pronouns, or gender expression.
Social transition policies vary between school districts and states. Some states, including California, New Jersey and Maryland, advise schools not to disclose information about students’ gender identity without their permission.
However, there are several other states with anti-discrimination policies that are open to interpretation.
Jeff Walker, a father in Alabama and another parent of a transgender student, told the Times that he worries about other gender-nonconforming youth whose families aren’t open to transition.
“Not all kids in this area have safe places at home,” Walker said.
The New York Times also spoke to Dr. Erica Anderson, a psychologist who has helped hundreds of young people through the transition.
Anderson, who is transgender, filed a brief in support of parents in a lawsuit in Maryland alleging the district’s policy violates their rights, the Times reported.
She wrote that social transition is “an important and potentially life-changing decision that requires parental involvement for many reasons.”