Since school has started we have shared story after story about some of the crazy things happening inside Iowa classrooms. But this one may be the most concerning of all.
Eighth-graders at Waukee’s Prairieview School were given a survey with the following questions on it:
What pronouns do you use? (note the asterisk that typically follows questions on a survey which are required in order to submit the survey)
Would you like me to use the pronouns
a. all the time
b. only in this classroom
c. at school, but please don’t use it with my family at home
d. other (I will write a comment later)
We reached out to Waukee’s superintendent, Brad Buck, asking him if teachers in the district are required to ask their students for preferred pronouns and, if they do ask students for preferred pronouns, are parents notified prior.
“There were no required activities to ask students about their pronouns,” he said. “There were suggested activities at some of our secondary schools, that included asking students about preferred pronouns. Because these are classroom level conversations and not changes to permanent records, parents were not necessarily contacted.”
Legislation proposed by Sen. Amy Sinclair, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, would require a district to provide written notification to parents or guardians one week before students are asked to identify preferred pronouns. Senate File 80 would also require the district to provide the student’s response to the parent or guardian upon request upon completion of the survey.
It did not pass.