Letters to the Editor: Will Orange Unified also cave to the anti-transgender mob?
To the editor: Thank you for noting the observation by the teachers union leader that that no Orange Unified School District parents of which he was aware ever asked for a policy that would out transgender students. News organizations must dig and ask who is actually pushing these policies.
Parents of LGBTQ+ children have noted that it is “always the same people” showing up at school board meetings. Members of so-called parent advocate groups and the Leave Our Kids Alone movement have showed up alongside Proud Boys and Jan. 6 Capitol rioters who traveled long distances to disrupt our schools and board meetings, sometimes violently.
As a concerned public school parent, I urge you to shine some light on this problem.
Katherine Gardner, Studio City
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To the editor: Many of the speakers offering public comment at the Aug. 17 meeting, on both sides of the issue, do not in fact reside in the area served by the Orange Unified School District.
The meeting acted as a soapbox for a traveling sideshow that goes from city to city. Worse, the public’s input on important matters is ignored because of this. The current board has already showed its fiscal incompetence and is going to carry on with its ideology-driven agenda.
It is a pity that schools that already have enough problems are being shoved by both sides into the national culture war whose principal beneficiaries are politicians.
Lew Livingston, Orange
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To the editor: As a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, I had a number of students come out to me as gay or transgender. Had they felt safe going to their parents, they would have.
Parents should be aware of what is happening with their children, but it is up to kids to inform them.
Teachers are providing a haven for the students who may be confused and scared. I was a sounding board for a student who was gay, and ultimately he felt comfortable sharing his news with his parents.
What better place than a school with trusted adults for a student to express their identity in an accepting atmosphere?
In a perfect world, young people would feel comfortable sharing everything about themselves with their parents. That is not always the case, and school should not be taken away as an important place in creating a safe haven for these ever growing and changing kids.
Carol Spector, Ventura
