Sheboygan Falls students will not have to seek parental permission for chosen pronouns
SHEBOYGAN FALLS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The latest in what the LGBTQ community considers a series of attacks in the Greater Milwaukee area came to an end Monday night.
Sheboygan Falls students will not have to seek parental permission for the pronoun they choose.
The district has for now, decided it won't send the proposed resolutions affecting the LGBTQ community forward.
"Whether it is she/her, they/them, whatever it might be, they should be allowed to do that," said Harper Depagter, parent. "They might not have affirmative parents at home. They might have really affirmative, supportive parents at home."
It's a victory for supporters of the LGBTQ community in Sheboygan Falls. Those in the room were overwhelmingly on their side.
"I am not concerned that my children would be influenced by this," said parent Amber Silva.
Four resolutions were on the table, including what to do about Sheboygan Falls' Gender Sexuality Alliance. Most praised the club for giving marginalized students a voice.
"Just the thought that this club could perish or not exist anymore was absolutely devastating," said Izzy Meerdink, senior.
A school board member expressed concerns in a 33-page document about what was perceived as political activism and special interest group interference with the club.
"These are not new ideas," said Carolynn Lee, Sheboygan County LGBTQ Alliance. "These are ideas that are being perpetuated by groups all across the country and being brought into our local communities.
These are the alliance's co-presidents.
"I'm just happy that we have it here because being a student here and seeing how many people do struggle with their sexuality," said Lukas Reshka, junior.
"Most of the good research around this shows that young people are suffering like this because of the way they are treated," said Lee.
The board could've voted to send the four resolutions on for further discussion, but none of the resolutions received a "second" and so all four failed to go any further.
A number of other area school districts in our area have recently gone with parental permission for pronouns, including Muskego-Norway and Waukesha.