School districts across the United States are beginning to roll back protections for transgender students as policies gain traction and federal threats to defund schools promoting so-called “woke” ideologies escalate.
The shift follows increased pressure from state legislatures and conservative parents’ rights groups, who have been advocating for the dismantling of transgender-inclusive policies in schools.
In Iowa, a February law signed by Republican Governor Kim Reynolds removed gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. This move prompted the Linn-Mar School District, located near Cedar Rapids, to rescind 2022 policies that had protected trans students from being forcibly outed and allowed them to use preferred pronouns.
The district had previously based its policy on the now-repealed law. “A policy that refers to laws that no longer exist doesn’t make sense,” said school board member Melissa Walker in March.
A national organisation, Parents Defending Education, challenged Linn-Mar’s earlier policies, arguing they permitted children to make crucial decisions regarding gender identity without involving their parents, and even to conceal these decisions from them.
Meanwhile, in Bellevue, Nebraska, the local school board faced a difficult ultimatum: repeal long-standing protections for transgender students or risk losing up to US$10 million in federal funding.
According to Bellevue Superintendent Jeff Rippe, the decision came after the White House, in a letter dated 3 April, warned schools nationwide to comply with executive orders banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and declaring that there are only two “immutable sexes”—male and female.
“Ten million dollars is what we get in federal funding. And that means a lot to this school district,” Rippe said. “Speaking personally, we cannot afford to lose $10 million.”
As a result, district policies were amended to allow staff to disclose a student’s transgender status to others, including parents, bar transgender students from discussing their gender identity, and restrict restroom access based on sex assigned at birth.
Rippe also cited “concerned parents” as a factor influencing the decision.
Similar tensions unfolded this week in Mesa, Arizona, where a proposed “Gender Dysphoria Policy” was debated during an overflow school board meeting. The district currently permits trans students to use their chosen names and pronouns, participate in school sports, and access facilities aligned with their gender identity. Staff are also prohibited from disclosing a student’s trans status.
The proposed policy would reverse all these protections. More than 80 speakers addressed the board, with opinions deeply divided.
Among those speaking was Jared Hiegle, who referred to trans identity as “a lie.”
“And if you are allowing your kid to believe this lie and condoning this lie, you are an agent of the devil,” he stated. “It’s not love to accept them as who they believe they are.”
The Mesa school board has referred the policy to external legal counsel before taking further action.
