A kerfuffle in the La Center School District demonstrates the absurdity of political debates over gender identity. While the situation is complicated, the overriding lesson is that school administrators throughout the state should follow laws and guidelines developed by elected officials.
In 2023, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction opened an investigation into La Center schools. That came after superintendent Peter Rosenkranz sent an email to district staff saying they should only ask students for their preferred names, not their preferred pronouns.
“Asking for pronouns in a public setting can make some feel included and others feel excluded,” Rosenkranz’s email said. “By just asking a student’s name, verbally or in writing, we give every student an opportunity to identify themselves on how they would like to be referred.”
La Center High School teacher Minna Thayer, who advises the Gay Straight Alliance student group, sent Rosenkranz a follow-up email asking if the district was prohibiting her from asking students to write their first and last names, nicknames and pronouns, or calling students they/them.
Rosenkranz clarified his directive, saying staff may use students’ preferred pronouns if they request it but shouldn’t ask students for their pronouns. Thayer followed with a discrimination complaint to the district, which hired a third-party investigator to look into the issue.
The investigator reported that “students have a clear right to be free from being called the incorrect name or pronoun.” He noted that no law or policy requires teachers to canvass all of their students about pronoun preference, and no law or policy prohibits it.
The situation adds to national debates about gender identity and transgender rights. According to TransLegislation.com, eight bills have been introduced in the Washington Legislature this year relating to transgender people, ranging from high school athletics to gender pronouns to the housing of inmates.
The issue led to one humorous viral moment in Wyoming, where laws have been passed regarding pronoun use. There, during online testimony, a constituent referred to a committee chair as “Madam Chairman.” The legislator said she should call him “Mr. Chairman,” to which the constituent replied, “Well, I cannot be compelled to use your preferred pronouns, as you have all voted.”
Nationally, the fact that so much time and oxygen is being wasted arguing about pronouns demonstrates the level to which our political discussions have degraded. If somebody prefers to be called he, she or them, common courtesy suggests that we adhere to their wishes. There is no drawback to treating others with respect.
All of which is playing out in a small way in La Center. There, the superintendent claims that asking for pronouns in a public setting can leave some students feeling excluded, but he contradicts that by saying teachers may ask for a student’s name “verbally or in writing.” That implies that there would be nothing wrong with asking for pronouns in writing, which is not a public setting.
After the ruling from the state superintendent’s office, Rosenkranz said, “We will not stand by while OSPI erodes parental authority and forces schools to act against families’ best interests.”
That strawman argument further politicizes the issue and ignores the reasonable solution — if he disagrees with state policy, he should work to change that policy or elect people who agree with him. But willfully violating state policy should not be considered a viable option.
