Fargo Public Schools (FPS) Superintendent Dr. Rupak Gandhi announced the district's intentions to remain noncompliant of House Bill 1522, just one day after North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed the bill into state law. (Related: House GOP passes bill protecting female sports in schools, but Democrats and Biden vow to oppose these protections.)
HB 1522 states, among other things, that school districts may not "withhold or conceal information about a student's transgender status from the student's parent or legal guardian."
The bill also prohibits self-identified trans K-12 students from using bathrooms that best align with their chosen gender identity. Schools will only be allowed to designate separate restroom accommodations for supposedly transgender students with the express permission of their parents.
The school district claimed withholding information regarding students' self-identified gender identities from their parents is necessary due to potentially unsafe home environments that could stem from the unwillingness of families to accept their children's decisions.
This decision elicited the fury of the parents of students in the school district, who spoke out opposing the move at a school board meeting.
"The way I heard [the school board's policy] is that you want to protect kids from their parents," said one father who slammed the district's noncompliance as "suppressing talk."
"Not only do you think you know my kids better than I do, you think you know every kid better than every parent does by saying you will not deal with the parents," he continued. "Won't you be shocked to discover when this happens to one of your kids?"
Another parent, a mother, warned that the school board's policy is setting a very dangerous precedent.
"Whose kids are these? Do they belong to you as a school board? Do they belong to Fargo Public Schools, or is each parent's child ultimately the decision-maker in their family over what is allowed and what is safe for that child?" said the mother. "There is no possible way for each teacher to know every kid as intimately as their parents do."
Several parents also showed up to the school board meeting to criticize HB 1522, claiming that immediately informing parents whether their children identify as transgender may put them in harm's way. However, the majority who spoke felt that FPS is "facilitating secret keeping" through its "efforts to break the law."
"You teach your kids that nobody who asks you to keep a secret is safe," said one mother. "Now, this is going the other way. This is an adult saying that they'll keep a child's secret."
Superintendent, school board support defying state law against parents' wishes
At a school board meeting explaining the FPS' decision, Gandhi told the community that the board will "double down" on advocating for students in the presence of a supposed conflict between the dictates of federal and state law.
"Unless the board tells us otherwise, we will not openly out any student because of one law if we know that's going to cause harm to that child," said Gandhi. "Unless dictated by the board otherwise, we will not participate in anything that we think is going to subject them to further discrimination or increase their self-harm."
Unless board members see a different approach, "that will be our course moving forward," he added. "We're going to do what's right for our kids and when we see a conflict between federal law and state law, we're going to double down and advocate for our youth."
Gandhi also claimed that the passage of HB 1522 is a sign that the adults of North Dakota and the members of the state legislative assembly "failed our children" because the bill supposedly puts politics above the humanity of children.
Several members of the nine-person school board thanked the superintendent for his stance at the meeting, with many of them echoing his comments about supposedly doing what will most protect students and keep them safe.
Furthermore, district spokeswoman AnnMarie Campbell said FPS will continue to allow students to use the restroom that aligns with their self-identified gender identity, or a staff or single-stall restroom that is available for use.
"Any concerns expressed by parents will be addressed through administration with consideration to providing the safest environment possible for all students," claimed Campbell.
Learn more about pro-transgender and left-wing indoctrination in public schools at CampusInsanity.com.
Watch this video from InfoWars as Alex Jones discusses the books pro-transgender ideologues are fighting to keep in children's school libraries.
This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Groomers at work: Pupils as young as seven urged to wear a badge displaying their pronouns.
Dr. Steve Horze blasts GROOMERS disguised as teachers in the public education system – Brighteon.TV.
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