Identity disclosure policy not required for district, superintendent says

Newton school board members removed the student disclosure of identity policy from a group of other approved policies on July 10 after receiving guidance from superintendent Tom Messinger, who said it is recommended or suggested to have the rule in place, but it is not required.

However, it is still state law for Iowa teachers to out LGBTQ students to their parents, or notify them when their child is referred to by a different gender, pronoun or nickname. School board member Travis Padget voted against the first reading of the identity disclosure policy, citing personal disagreements.

Padget, who is a gay man, told Newton News that he is “not OK with putting a policy on our books that leaves kids in harms way.” Padget said the Newton Community School District should be a safe place to LGBTQ students who do not feel safe at home, but the policy would not allow that.

At the start of the meeting, Padget requested the policy be removed from the lump group of other policies so that it may be discussed separately. Messinger told board members the policy was only recommended and not required, leading to the board removing it entirely from the second reading and final approval.

Also included in the student disclosure of identity policy — listed as 503.07 — were two supporting documents: a report of student disclosure of identity to be used by administrators and a request to update a student’s identity to be used by families. These forms were also removed and not voted on by the board.

According to a draft of the policy, school district employees would be prohibited from providing “false or misleading information to the parent/guardian of a student regarding that student’s gender identity or intent to transition.” This is a result of the parental rights laws signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds this year.

Several people who are against the bill, including Padget, say this puts LGBTQ students in jeopardy by outing them against their wishes.

“As a young gay man, I felt at risk and in danger in the community, but I also felt at risk and in danger of losing my family if I came out,” Padget recalled of his own experiences. “I had some opportunities for a safe space to say, ‘I think I’m gay’ or whatever the conversation was at the 1980s or early 1990s.”

If he had been afraid of individuals being forced to tell his parents and out him to his parents, Padget said he would have never had a safe space. When it came time for Padget to want to come out to friends and family, he did so in stages. “You don’t just come out on a billboard,” he said.

Sometimes it requires LGBTQ individuals to come out to a few exclusive people to know they have some level of acceptance before branching out even further.

“That process has changed dramatically in the last 30-some years. When I was coming out I maybe I knew of three other gay people in the world, maybe four. I was pretty isolated and I wasn’t sure there was a safe space,” Padget said. “…For me, coming out was a gradual process.”

To gradually come out to friends at school or a trusted teacher may not be possible now thanks to the new law.

“I would have had no choice in that matter,” Padget said. “I can’t tell you how I would have felt about it, but it would have been horrifying and scary. I’ve had friends that were kicked out of their families for being gay. I know people who have been kicked out of their families for being transgender.”

Padget also told Newton News the policy contradicts the school board’s mission and vision.

The district’s mission states: “The Newton Community School District empowers every learner to achieve a lifetime of personal success.”

The district’s vision states: “We are a collaborative and cohesive team that inspires all learners in a culture of safety and acceptance.”

“It doesn’t say cisgender or identifying as a particular gender. It says all learners, every learner,” Padget said. “The state is denying us our actual vision and putting our vision at risk. Because if there are kids that aren’t safe, they don’t have a culture of safety and acceptance. It could interfere with their learning.”