Teaching your child that there are many genders, and that happiness depends on a lifetime of sexual exploration, is now a top priority of your public school.

Partial Responses to Gender Inquiry IR 24-16

From Stillwater Minnesota Area Schools

To Fixing Stillwater Schools (FSS)

September 29, 2024, Working Draft

OVERVIEW

Minnesota public schools are pursuing systemic indoctrination of extreme progressive world views and values in our children, regularly contradicting those held by the student’s parents and faith community. Fixing Stillwater Schools (FSS) has separately addressed the disguising of racial/political indoctrination as an English class (see MN834.org).

This inquiry is intended to alert parents to the routine and systemic sexual mentoring of children in the LGBTQIA+ world view beginning in kindergarten. Starting well before the age of reason, students who aspire to the approval and affection of their teachers and school community are extremely vulnerable and open to indoctrination.

Evidence gathered here documents that once Minnesota government made laws designating “sexual orientation and gender identity” to be protected classes, systemic implementation quickly followed in which no dissent from LGBTQIA+ dogma is tolerated.

Instilling the LGBTQIA+ multi-gender-fluidity world view in every child is a school priority. Universal adoption of this world view is being promoted because believers “feel unsafe” among unbelievers. Unbelief is described as hostile, hateful, and harmful. Advocates assert that unbelievers, unless suppressed or converted, will cause believers to “feel unsafe” and harm or even kill themselves as a result. Therefore, everything and everyone must conform to the LGBTQIA+ world view for school to “feel safe.” There can be no accommodation of dissent. School culture must embed, promote and mentor the LGBTQIA+ world view to achieve universal acceptance. This is State of Minnesota policy.

The Minnesota Department of Education supports this directly. School boards are supported in implementing state-mandated belief systems by a small army of attorneys, lobbyists and policy advisors at the Minnesota School Boards Association (Docs. 575 and higher number).

Children of unbelievers must be saved from their parents. Believers in the LGBTQIA+ world view “know” what is good and true about sexuality. Unbelievers don’t. Model “Gender Support Plans” and even state statute provides for school sexual mentors to hide from parents’ children’s “gender identity status” if the parent does not embrace LGBTQIA+ dogma. No practicable accommodation for unbelievers is made in classroom teaching, bathrooms, locker rooms, sports or in overnight accommodations.

Teachers are undergoing an ideological purge. Licensing and relicensing requirements (PELSB) now require demonstration of LGBTQIA+ and other ideological advocacy in every subject, in every grade. As seen below, this is now part of continuing “education” requirements, run by organizations that professionally advocate for exclusive dominance of the LGBTQIA+ world view to “feel safe.”

District documents clearly show that teachers and other staff will be required to submit to and promote LGBTQIA+ dogma even if it contradicts their beliefs.

Minnesota schools routinely rely on radical organizations such as GLSEN, Gender Spectrum, and OutFront Minnesota for policy guidance on squashing dissent, countering “parent rights” organizations, co-opting groups like the Parent-Teachers Association for LGBTQIA+ promotion, implementing administrative processes, and providing classroom materials.

School counselors, and their associations, embrace their role as the being the vanguard standardizing the LGBTQIA+ world view as THE school culture. This is done by incorporating concepts such as “Woke Wednesday” instruction on expected dogma conformity, dogma celebrations providing peer pressure to conform, and on-campus but off calendar activities such as GLSEN’s Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs that are hidden from parent visibility which school employees promote and supervise.

And now, likely among the materials NOT yet released, is the unfolding of newly enacted State of Minnesota curriculum standards requiring inclusion of specific dogma in all subjects beginning this year.

For example, in a separate inquiry process the District has refused for over 5 months to reveal materials (likely purchased this summer) for its new curricula replacing what used to be 5th grade puberty segments in health classes. In April 2024 discussions FSS members attended, the District discussed the “need” to replace old-fashioned “binary heteronormality” world views with a much more expansive LGBTQIA+ multi-gender-fluidity instruction … for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade children.  When school officials were asked what accommodations would be made for parents who believe their sons are boys, their daughters are girls and that this is fixed and unchanging?  The answer was, “We believe in trans kids and the law is on our side.” That is, no accommodation at all for children of unbelievers.

Minnesota schools are politically progressive occupied territory, our education system a fully “captured” institution from our State Capitol to our local kindergarten. Many are resisting but our lesson is clear – America don’t be us.

BACKGROUND

Documents shared here were requested on May 3, 2024 by Michael McCarthy on behalf of the local parent’s group Fixing Stillwater Schools (FSS). They were obtained using the Minnesota Data Practices Act. (Minn. Stat. 13) Stillwater Area Schools, Independent School District 834 (hereafter the District) was directed to provide the following:

Part 1: Please provide for inspection all hardcopy and electronic communications provided to school district employees, contractors or volunteers since May 1, 2022 regarding accommodation, affirmation, treatment or other considerations regarding students identifying as a gender other than they were identified as having at birth. Please note that no information identifying an individual minor is being requested.

Inquiry part 2: Please provide for inspection all hardcopy or electronic communications received since May 1, 2022 from the Minnesota State School Board Association (MSBA) providing a model for such communications described in Part 1 of this inquiry.

Initially, the District indicated that it had up to 30,000 related documents. It reduced the list of materials provided to fewer than 300 documents from the 2022-23 school year and from first semester of the 2023-24 school year. Much of what was provided were news clips distributed to school employees from the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA). These are not addressed in this summary.

The District has yet to produce materials from calendar year 2024 that it is legally obligated to provide. The single exception is Doc. 4387 which informs teachers how to sign up for continuing education credits from the program that included LGBTQIA+ advocacy training from the organization OutFront Minnesota. This exception demonstrates that documents not produced from calendar year 2024 can be identified and provided.

It is noteworthy that the District has previously resisted producing requested classroom materials for 3 years (2020-23), requiring litigation by FSS to reveal them to the community. The District was found in violation of law for doing so. (See OAH Docket No. 22-0305-39352) 

Document numbers used indicate the last digits in the document code attached to the record received by Fixing Stillwater Schools (FSS) from the Stillwater, Minnesota area public schools (ISD 834).

DOCUMENTS OBTAINED

February 16, 2022. (Doc. 4913 and attachment 4914) Notice of school board packet and materials passing Policy 522, Title IX- Sex Non-Discrimination adding gender identity and sexual orientation to protected classes. [View Policy 522 Title IX Sex Non-Discrimination.] This follows changes in 2017 to Minnesota Statutes 363A.13 Subdivision 1 making “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” protected classes.

May 24, 2022.  (Docs. 4632 / 12914 and 4914 / 12915) School Board Vice-Chair Hockert responds to Brandon Auge, EL Teacher and local teacher’s union VP regarding his desire for official “gender inclusion” policies. (Docs 12912, and 12908)  St. Paul Schools Policy 500 “Gender Inclusion” is attached as an example. (Doc. 12909) Also attached is Statutory Requirement SR1.10 “Racial, Religious, Sexual Harassment, Violence and Hazing” (Doc. 4631 / 12913), and Policies 526 “Hazing Prohibition” and Policy 522 “Title IX Sexual Non-discrimination Policy, Grievance Procedure and Process” (Subparts in Doc. 4630 in which Joan Hurley passes information onto Hockert)

June 1, 2022. (Doc. 0388) Mary Leadem Ticiu distributes “7th Edition LGBTQ Resource Guide Online Resources” to all counselors, and copies all administrators, emphasizing that we support (i.e., advocate) LGBTQIA+ beliefs.

                     ********* [Note: go back and try the dozens of link addresses shown] ************

June 1, 2022. (Doc. 2448 and attached Docs. 2449/2453, 2450/2454, and 2451/2455) Cornelius Rish, Cultural Liaison, sends a regular “Woke Wednesday” broadcast emails to all district staff. Subject: “Happy LGBTQIA+ Pride Month (info/resources”.  “It is imperative that all educators and school staff do our part … To do this we have to understand our students, their backgrounds and find out ways we can support [i.e., advocate and mentor] them. Below are some resources gathered from colleagues that can help us on our learning journey.” (Emphasis in original added although original increased font size for emphasis) The message to all staff is you are expected to embrace and promote this world view through our schools. Links (now inactive) were provided to “Explore the history of the lGBTQ movement in America” and “Why pronouns matter”.

“Anchored Allies: Sinking the Gender Binary in Schools: Genderbread person and school action plan to promote LGBTQIA+ world view to young children. (Doc. 2453 / 2449)

LGBTQIA+ Pride Zoom background for use as school employee. Encourages students to disclose sexual secrets to school staff mentor who can hide the information from peers and parents. (Doc. 2454 / 2450)

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) nine (9) slides suggesting that LGBTQIA+ believers are unsafe among unbelievers and that schools must strive for uniform adoption of LGBTQIA+ beliefs. (Doc. 2455 / 2451)

June 1, 2022. (Doc. 2452) Sidney Piras sends attachments above to Cornelius Rish for Woke Wednesday distribution to all district employees., (Attachments duplicated above)

June 24, 2022. (Doc. 4208) Legal seminar announcement flyer. Topics include transgender protocols and “data practices survival guide.” [No content provided to FSS].

August 2, 2022. (Doc. 19669)  An incoming student makes an official request for the school to change his name and gender. Robert Bach Stillwater High School Principal asks John Perry, Director of Learning, Technology and Design Systems “… do we have a protocol/checklist articulated for this? We have informally honored many requests but this is one of the first formal requests that I have come across to have everything changed in the system.” (Doc. 19668) Mr. Perry responds with the Name/Gender Change form 2022. 

August 2, 2022. (Docs. 19670 and 19671)  Mr. Perry sends an attached Name/Gender Change Form noting: “We can process these through Enrollment or just send it directly to me with a parent signature. All changes will be made in PowerSchool and the preferred Name/Gender is the only information that will be presented to staff through the ISD#834 technology systems.”

August 3, 2022. (Doc. 0385 and 0386)  Assistant Principal sends Name/Gender Change Form to school Counselor Dan Ralston who requests “… the district add “non-binary” to the gender, as most of my kids that have used the form write that in.”

August 22-23, 2022. New “non-binary” Name/Gender Change Form is completed with engagement of all counselors and large “team” of staff. (Docs. 0380, 0381, 0382, 0385, and 0386. Also see Docs. 2215, 2214, 2206, 2205, 2204, and 2203.)

September 9, 2022.  (Doc. 5334)  Andrea Luehring sends Kristin Arnt “resource for Transgender/questioning student” that includes contact/referral information to outside counselor Dr. Kai Guntry of Dandelion Spirit Psychotherapy, an LGBTIA+ “affirming” practice, an LGBTQIA+ promotional reading list of 15 books, and links to:

·         Schools In Transition: A Guide to Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools at https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/files/assets/resources/Schools-In-Transition.pdf (live link, 68 pages)

·         Principles of Gender-Inclusive Puberty and Health Education (inactive Gender Spectrum link).

·         Cultivating Respect by PFLAG (inactive document link).

·         Model School District Policy on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students at http://transequality.org/sites/default/files/images/resources/trans_school_district_model_policy_FINAL.pdf  This is a 16 page GLSEN product.

September 21. 2022. (Doc. 2782)  Emily Stangel announces Oakland-Middle-School will now have a  Gender Neutral changing room for children to change clothing at school to keep their at-school gender identity separate from their at-home gender identity. No mention is made of parental involvement.

October 25, 2023. (Doc. 2299) Sydney distributes American School Counselor Association (ASCA) advocacy brief slides to promote LGBTQIA through school counselors.

(Doc.2300) Attached are 40 American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Advocacy Brief slides that include:

Slide 9 notes pending federal requirement that foster care must be “affirming environment for LGBTQ children.” Slide 10 reviews related Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and filing supportive comments.

Slide 11 lists ASCA Advocacy Letters including:

·         Forcing the Smithsonian National Museum to develop and disseminate education resources for educators to teach LGBTQI+ and woman’s history in an inclusive and intersectional way in its funding bill;

·         Joined GLSEN to press for law against harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.

·         Requiring schools to let athletes participate according to their gender identity.

Slide 16 lists 7 state issues 4 of which are: 1) transgender bans; 2) outing students; 3) bans on diverse curriculum and 4) parent’s rights legislation.

Slide 17 Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for LGBTQ+ rights “Stronger than our enemies” on the “emergency” of people not affirming their world view.

Slide 18 GLSEN state overviews

Slide 19 “The Hate Wave Continues” as the US Supreme Court and 80 state laws do not affirm the LGBTQIA+ world view. LGBTQIA advocacy resources are offered at https://www.hrc.org/resources/national-state-of-emergency-know-your-rights-summer-2023

Slides 20-22 provide suicide statistics suggesting, without directly stating, that if everyone does not embrace the LGBTQIA+ world view, these children are up to 350% more likely to harm or kill themselves.

Slide 23: The risks to the LGBTQIA agenda are from lawmakers, school board policies, and “parent rights.”

Slide 24 – 28 concludes suggesting that school counselors be proactive in fighting for the LGBTQIA+ world view, working with groups like the PTA to “Create and enhance a culture of [LGBTQIA] acceptance.”

November 14, 2022. (Doc. 2667) Sydney Piras sends Alec Shern LGBTQIA+ advocacy materials “to focus on: “Gender Support Plan” [see Gender Spectrum’s in Doc. 2433], OutFront MN Educational Equity Program, and GLSEN. (Subpart in Doc. 2660) Attached are:

(Doc. 2668/2664) GLSEN 2017 summary of Minnesota school’s LGBTQIA+ acceptance “Climate”; 2 pages. Summary asserts the climate is bad. Solution: adopt policies reflecting the LGBTQIA+ world view, imbed ideology in curriculum, require staff “professional development” on LGBTQIA ideology, support GLSEN “Gender Sexuality Alliance” (GSA) student clubs [FSS parents have found these “clubs” are for students to embrace LGBTQIA ideology away from home in on-campus, uncalendared meetings “run” by students under staff supervision and support].

(Doc. 2669/ 2663) GLSEN “Improving School Climate for Transgender and Nonbinary Youth”. 18 pages. Asserts that LGBTQIA+ children “feel unsafe” (emphasis added to this essential, and repeated phrase) when others do not yield to their ideology. Not yielding is “hostile.” Everyone and everything must change so the LGBTQIA+ don’t have these feelings.

(Doc. 2670 / 2662) GLSEN 2021 School Climate Survey. 198 pages. Asserts the climate is bad. “Homophobic remarks” happen.  Many do not behave as the LGBTQIA+ believers want. This must be stopped. All teachers and students can, and should, work together to create a school environment that embraces the LGBTQIA+ world view and values. Tools to do so are provided.

(Doc. 2671/2661) OutFront Minnesota: Educational Equity Program, “2020 LGBTQIA+ Youth & Educator Resource Guide.” 19 pages. “Remember, … there is an infinite number of sexual identities.” This document is stunningly direct and straight forward. It also includes the broader Woke world view explaining the importance of being an “intersectional” LGBTQIA+ ally to other’s who see themselves as fellow victims in other identity groups, how to be an “ally” and to be aware that “white, able-bodied, or native-English speakers have certain privileges. …” An extensive resource list on intersectionality is provided.

November 16, 2022. (Docs. 0359 / 2642 )  Sydney Piras writes monologue declaring all electronic record-keeping systems must comply with LGBTQIA ideology as per guidance from the MN Department of Education “toolkit” below and US Department of Education. Mr. Piras asserts the need to instruct all staff to comply with LGBQIA+ ideology “… regardless of ignorance/lack of education/personal beliefs, we owe it to our students to be more informed and in alignment with current best practices.” (emphasis added) That is, everything, and everyone must comply with the LGBTQIA+ world view at school whether they believe it or not. (emphasis added) (Portions are in 0360, 0361: Note several emails in the string may have been deleted, just the headers remain.)

(Doc. 2643) Minnesota Department of Education publication “Toolkit for Ensuring Safe and Supportive Schools for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students” [download Toolkit here -- Revised 9/25/17]

November 16, 2022. (Doc. 0362) Shelly Phernetton, Assistant Principal, SAHS, establishes working group to update the Student Name Change form at the request of Alec Shern, School Counselor who notes questions have come up about “student and parent rights associated with the form. … [W]e talked about a Gender Support Plan [as recommended by Gender Spectrum at ISN Resources — Gender Spectrum ] during our meeting and found it to be a good place to start on how to support our students through this process.” (Meeting time agreements are Docs. 0363, 0263, 0264,0365, 0366, 0367, and 0368. Gender Spectrum’s GSP is Docs. 2022 and 2433)

December 6, 2022. (Doc. 2414) Shelly Phernetton presses for progress on the “name change form conversion.” (Duplicate portions in Docs. 2415, 2416, and 2432. Attachments are Docs. 2433, 2434)

December 6, 2022. John Richard Perry, Director of Learning, Technology, and Design Systems, says the Name/Gender Change Form conversion needs to “fold into the Transcript conversion. The unofficial transcript now includes AKA information (e.g., John Perry AKA Joan Perry) so it addresses the legal name and preferred name challenges. We have a meeting scheduled… with Dan Ralston (and others?) to go over our transcript capabilities and begin the process of developing a new Official Transcript.” [Emphasis added]

December 6, 2022. Sydney Piras writes that “Alec: Looking into parental and student rights. Becky: looking into a more robust gender support plan. Sydney: connecting with John regarding the technology side of thing[s]. … [T]he form the district created was not accurate in how PowerSchool dealt with the transcript piece. Specifically, the current name change form suggests that the Transcript in PowerSchool will reflect the students updated name change which is not the case. … Legally, the name on the transcript cannot be changed without a court document. This language needs to be updated on the name change form …”

December 6, 2022. (Doc. 2022 / 2433) Becky Hopper recommends Gender Spectrum’s Gender Support Plan as robust as well as the one used in Chicago Public Schools (Doc.2434).

·         (Doc. 2022 / 2433) Gender Spectrum’s Gender Support Plan. Note on page 3, the student’s long “privacy” list includes secrecy from parents “… if the student’s guardians are not aware and/or supportive of the student’s gender status.”

·         (Doc. 2434 / 2023) Chicago Public Schools Gender Support plan also enables secrecy from parents stating “ [S]chool staff should not disclose a student’s preferred name, pronoun, or other confidential information pertaining to the student’s transgender or gender non-conforming status without the student’s permission …”

NOTE: The American School Counselors Association (ASCA) statement supporting Transgender and Non-binary youth is linked at https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Transgender-Gender-noncon (see also Doc. 2415)

December 8, 2022.  Sydney Piras writes to Shelly Phernetton and other administrators discussing completing recommendations and getting approvals for new forms and supporting management. (Doc. 2414)

December 20, 2022. (Doc. 4914) School Board passes updated Policy 522 “Sex Non-Discrimination”

February 8, 2023. (Doc. 2389) Becky Hopper asks to confirm that once a student turns 18 they no longer need a parent to sign the Name/Gender Name Change Form. [District data provided did not include the answer.]

(Doc. 2390) Attached is a screen shot of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) indicating all rights transfer to a student upon reaching age 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

(Doc. 2391) Attached is a copy of the Name/Gender Change Form

February 14, 2023. (Doc. 5086) Kyle Kane, Principal, Oak-Land Middle School, to all Stillwater Middle School and Oak-Land Middle School staff announcing 2/17/23 professional development day including 12:15 p.m. all middle school staff LGBTQ advocacy training by OutFront Minnesota (for Continuing Education Units). Follow up by Heidi Jones, Instructional Coach (she/her/hers) passes information forward stating: “Here is a summary of the 17th that Katie sent to our principals to send out to ensure people are registering …” (Doc. 4363 simply asks where to go for training.)

February 14, 2023. (Doc. 4031) Alex Friend, 8th Grade Science Teacher asks if it is permissible to miss OutFront Minnesota’s LGBTQIA+ advocacy training for the last day of science teacher training.

February 14, 2023. (Doc. 4030) Principal Krebs, Stillwater Middle School grants Mr. Friend permission to get science training instead saying “Yes, thanks for checking”. [to need to check shows the high priority given to LGBTQIA+ advocacy training.]

March 3, 2023. (Doc. 2736) Principal Stephan Gorde, Lake Elmo Elementary, announces “all-user gender-inclusive” bathroom in “all-staff” communication. No direction to notify parents. Attached flyer from LGBTQIA+ advocaats Gender Justice.

(Doc. 2737) Attachment “Transgender Students: Know Your Rights” by Gender Justice. Provides legal citations and references. [main website asserts Federal Title IX protections for gender identity and sexual orientation. Descriptions of “hostile” environment include any behavior or action that might make the LGBTQIA+ child feel that their world view is not accepted by everyone.]

March 9, 2023. (Doc. 0335) Draft Gender Identity and First Name Change form circulated among all SAHS counselors for further review and comment. [Note: This version of the form was not included by District.] Previously reviewed by 20 staff listed in email.

March 27, 2023. (Doc. 2021) Becky Hopper resends her email of December 6, 2022 recommending group proceeds with administrative implementation projects.

March 30-31, 2023. (Doc. 2603)  Claire Carpenter in “all staff” distribution promotes annual “transgender day of visibility” (link at https://pflag.org/transgender-day-of-visibility ). There is no evidence of parental notification by the District. Others thank her saying its “… so important to have reminders and alerts for these dates for us to keep our awareness and on our minds for our students!”  Sydney Piras elaborates saying: “Bringing awareness to days like this is huge” and provides opportunities to promote pronoun beliefs so students “feel safe.” Claire Carpenter further elaborates on the importance of GLSEN advocacy stating that if others do not embrace LGBTQIA+ beliefs kids won’t “feel safe” and will kill themselves at a high rate.

May 5-10, 2023. (Doc. 0297 / 2546; also Doc. 0299) Sidney Piras summarizes planning meeting for LGBTQIA+ advocacy by school counselors. [Meeting participants excluded] Key points include:

All high school counselors “will collaborate with middle-level counselors to discuss the gender support plan by gender spectrum.”

“Update the Identity Change Form to include broader scopes of identity, not just name changes in connection to affirming gender. This will be shared with SAHS and middle-level counselors.”

“[W]hen we interact with students and staff … the terms “preferred pronouns” or “preferred name” are outdated and even cause harm within and to the community because they imply that it is a preference. … What professional organizations that specialize in LGBTQIA+ advocacy recommend are “pronouns” and “chosen name.”

·         Attached [See Doc. 2547) for excerpt from “Beyond Basics: A Resource for Educators on Sexuality and Sexual Health”.  “If you are a classroom teacher, consider regular pronoun check-ins. Do not assume that if a student uses a pronoun one day, that it will be the same the next. A fun way to encourage students to challenge their assumptions around the pronouns people use is to create pronoun buttons for all students to wear (and possibly change) every day.  When doing pronoun check-ins, be sure to ask students to identify the exact pronouns they use (e.g., she/her and/or he/him, and/or they/them or other pronouns that they have created or that other trans or gender non-binary people have created. It is common for people newly introduced to pronoun check-ins to indicate “I use female pronouns.” Be clear with your students that this is not a sufficient identifier because it assumes that there are specific pronouns attached to assigned sex when this is not the case. For instance, while someone may have been assigned female at birth, they might identify as a trans man and use the pronoun he/him …” [Emphasis added] Notice that parents are not involved or informed of this programming.

·         A Guide to Gender Identity Terms:  https://www.npr.org/2021/06/02/996319297/gender-identity-pronouns-expression-guide-lgbtq

·         Affirming Gender Identity: https://emerson.edu/departments/intercultural-student-affairs/resources/affirming-gender-identity

·         Gender Pronouns & Their Use in Workplace Communications by the National Institutes of Health, Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office:  https://dpcpsi.nih.gov/sgmro/gender-pronouns-resource

Separate student feedback was acknowledged but not included in documents provided.

Follow up communication from John Perry, Director of Learning, Technology and Design Systems notes that record-keeping tools such as Schoology can have preferred name have features turned on and off “… if that is what is called for in someone’s [gender support plan] GSP.” Note, GSP versions in discussion have extensive privacy/secrecy provisions, including hiding information from parents if the school decides to. Apparently, the technology can support this.

[Also note that in the MN Data Practices Act (Minn. Stat 13.02, Subd. 8), under “Definitions” and then “Individual” the concluding statutory language appears to keep data hidden from parents at the school’s discretion.]  Public data “… includes a parent or guardian or an individual acting as a parent or guardian … except that the responsible authority [school] shall withhold data from parents or guardians … upon request by the minor if the responsible authority determines that withholding the data would be in the best interest of the minor.”

May 10, 2023. (Doc. 0298) Sydney Piris responds to Mr. Perry saying that he has “left comments and notes [not included from the District] and that he has “… another email/call out to [the Minnesota Department of Education] MDE regarding the language around gender and sex from the student management/MARSS reporting perspective. It seems like there was some work done regarding MARSS reporting years ago around this topic and some confusion as to its status. If a call or email response back and we are able to have a future conversation/meeting around that lens, I’d appreciate your support and presence with an understanding of how that back-end works.” 

The Minnesota Department of Education response was not included in materials provided by the District.

May 12, 2023. (Doc. 0295) Sydney Piras asks Ricky Michel to confirm for child “assigned female at birth but identifies as male” arrangements for “team placement, locker room/changing, and other information.”  Michel confirms that the child “would have the choice to participate in either male or female sports, due to assignment [female] at birth,” “Locker room assignment is determined by identifying sex or comfort level.” … When we have a male [identified at birth] who identifies as female, and who wants to participate as a female, there are stipulations that take place.” (Subparts in Docs. 0294 and 0296)

May 16, 2023 (Doc. 4363) Jessica Stephenson shares announcement for “Gender Identity in Young Children” a seminar promoting LGBTQIA+ beliefs to save kids from self-harm. Continuing “education” credits available. Seminar includes “options and strategies for supporting young children in their potential exploration of and understanding of their own gender identity.” (emphasis added)

June 6, 2023. (Doc. 4848 and attachment 4849)  Luke Huntley writes school board and counselors that “With the rising levels of LGBTQIA+ hate we need to make sure that our students feel safe … by using pronouns in our signature at the end or our [employee] emails.” [Emphasis added] He attached GLSEN item (Doc. 4849) showing Minnesota schools have people still not affirming LGBTQIA+ beliefs and that is bad. Otherwise LGBTQIA+ believing students will not “feel safe.” [Emphasis added]

June 28, 2023. (Doc. 8423) MSBA announces model Policy 515 “Protection and Privacy of Pupil Records [NOT provided].  Model student handbook provided in Docs. 4825 and 4849.

August 25, 2023. (Doc. 0274) All-staff memo from Shelly Phernetton, Principal, Stillwater MN High School states “By law, individuals have the right to use bathroom facilities that they safely identify with. For more information, please check out this resource: Gender Justice [link not provided]”

August 28, 2023. (Doc. 2861) Megan Beadle (GSA staff advisor and Stillwater Middle School art teacher) to all staff, Inclusive Classrooms and Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) club.  Distributed a slide show [not provided to FSS] on “… everything from why it is important to think about how we support our LGBTQ+ kids to what are some resources out there … I personally use the first week with the kids to make sure that I know what name and pronouns students want me to use. … It can be as easy as adding those questions to something like a name tent … I do a 20 Questions form …  that works well.” Note this is independent of the middle schoolers parents being informed.

She goes on to note that a second staff would be helpful to make sure that the GSA club does not falter [note, this is an allegedly student led, student run club.] The Gender-Sexuality Alliance is described as a place “where students who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies, can meet to support one another and help create … a more welcoming school.” The kids “promote positive change.” That is, they become a political advocacy force within the school at the direction of nationwide advocate GLSEN. She notes that “Kids don’t need to register and can come to any meeting.” Promotional posters and flyers will be available next week for kids who are interested. No mention is made of informing parents of this LGBTQIA on-campus promotional to their middle school children. Meetings are not on the school calendar.

November 30, 2023. (Doc. 2235)  Sydney Piras reminds counselors that before senior pictures are taken “If you have any students where the name they go by in school doesn’t match what is in PowerSchool … it may be worth visiting or revising that Identity Change Form.”

(Doc. 2236) Identity Change Form attachment. Requires parent signature if under age 18 and legal documents.

December 5, 2023. (Doc. 4238) Erin Nickleby writes parents to inform them of health class assignments, other matters … and to say that 2 staff from the professional LGBTQIA+ advocacy organization OutFront Minnesota will address the class on “gender identity and sexual orientation and will hold conversations around respect and equity …” There is no mention of sending parents the program outline (Doc.4239) or of informing them of “opt out” options.

(Doc. 4239) OutFront Minnesota’s “LGBTQ+101 & Intersecting Identities Student Training Outline.”  Includes “health instruction” on “Homophobia and Transphobia, Intersectionality (how race, ability and other layers of identity shape experiences” and assessing how good YOUR school is at embracing LGBTQ+ culture and beliefs. [See related OutFront MN videos here.]

December 12, 2023. (Doc. 12901) School Board Chair Bev Petrie tells Board VP Katie Hockert that at an AMSD meeting “policies relating to equity and gender” came up where Richfield’s Policies 586 and 116 were held up as examples. VP Hockert replies “I would love to see [ISD} 834 develop an equity policy of our own. … staff might appreciate policy clarification…”

December 14, 2023. (Doc. 12900)  Jennifer Cherry, Assistant Superintendent, responds to VP Hockert, copying all board members and Superintendent Funk saying only “Thank you for sharing. We will talk about timing for new policies.” [Note, the administration appears to be in charge of policy-making, not the board.]

January 24, 2024. (Doc. 4387) describes getting credits for MCSA (MN School Counselors Association) conference. Note that “Cultural Competency” credit requirements category includes “Gender Identity/Transgendered Students” as one eligible area covered. Many links missing.

Highlights Include:

Teachers are now licensed (or have their license renewed) only by demonstrating loyalty to this dogma. Academic education is displaced by instruction promoting these beliefs to young children before they reach the age of reason. 

In Stillwater Area Schools this is routine. Normal. Expected … for everyone. Children and staff who believe that there are only two genders are “helped” by ever present reminders to conform their thinking to what is being promoted.  

Need proof? 

Using the Minnesota Data Practice Act (Minn. Stat. 13) Fixing Stillwater Schools obtained the documents below by asking for instructions given staff concerning youth who identify as a gender different for that identified at birth. Initially, the District indicated that there were up to 30,000 such documents from just 2 school years.  

Staff were reminded in a routine “Woke Wednesday” [#2452] communication to embrace and promote the “Genderbread Person” [#2453] and related values [#2454] to the children in their care. 

In a routine Health Class memo [#4238], professional LGBTQIA+ promotors, "Outfront MN [link]," are provided classroom access and time. In their outline [#4239] they both promote their world views using the “Gender Unicorn” and make it clear that students are expected to uphold these ideas in their school.

Staff also recommend book lists and off-site resources promoting LGBTQIA+ world view and beliefs to children in their care.  [#5334]  

To ensure that every teacher is prepared to present these beliefs to the children entrusted to them, Stillwater Area Schools substitutes LGBTQIA+ advocacy training for otherwise required academic training. In one document obtained [#4031] a science teacher questions if it is permissible to miss LGBTQIA+ advocacy training to take training related to the teaching of science. The need to clarify which is the higher priority is highly informative.  

Other LGBTQIA+ advocacy training for teachers is provided on the job by: 

GLSEN [doc and org link]       # 

Outfront MN [doc and org link]    #