A Virginia teacher quit her job in tears to avoid having to respect the preferred pronouns and names of transgender students. At a Loudon County Schools board meeting that included a vote on a policy to require teachers and staff to use the trans students’ chosen names and gender identities, Laura Morris announced that she would leave the teaching profession to avoid having to abide by these measures should they pass, which was ultimately the case.
Lots of impassioned arguments tonight from both sides.
One of the most striking moments was this…
This @LCPSOfficial teacher quit right in front of the board, b/c she said they're forcing her to "push highly politicized agendas on…children." @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/K7KYKLCHA0
— Jess Arnold (@JessArnoldTV) August 11, 2021
- The new rules are in place to protect the rights of trans students. According to The Independent, Loudon County’s new guidelines state that Staff or students who intentionally and persistently refuse to respect a student’s gender identity by using the wrong name and gender pronoun are in violation of this policy.” Not only that, but trans students should be able to take part in “interscholastic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities … in a manner consistent with the student’s gender identity.”
- The policy actually gives trans students respect and validation. In addition to the above conditions, the policy states that students can use the bathrooms and changing room that “correspond with their consistently asserted gender identity” and dictates that staff should do everything they can to “take steps to designate gender-inclusive or single-user restrooms commensurate with the size of the school.”
- Staff will also need to get educated. Not only will trans students be given rights they should have had all along, but staff will have to step up their game and become more educated in order to protect them adequately, just as they would do for all children. “All school mental health professionals shall complete training on topics relating to LGBTQ+ students, including procedures for preventing and responding to bullying, harassment, and discrimination based on gender identity/expression,” the policy states.
- Morris doesn’t agree with the measure, to put it lightly. She told the board that she “struggled with the idea of returning to school” because she knew she would be “working yet again with the school division that despite its shiny tech and flashy salary, promotes political ideologies that do not square with who I am as a believer in Christ.”
- She feels attacked as a white Christian. Morris further claimed that at a “so-called equity training” that an educator pointed out that white Christian able-bodied women have the power at school and that the board wanted to change that, which didn’t sit well with Morris. I suppose it’s not nice when you’re no longer the one calling the shots based on personal prejudices and beliefs rather than actual human rights…
- Morris pulled a pity party. She told the board that she and other teachers are no longer valued simply because they might have to treat trans students with respect (as they should be doing with everyone they meet, not just the kids they teach). “You’ve made your point. You no longer value me, or many other teachers you’ve employed in this county. So since my contract outlines the power that you have over my employment in Loudon County Public Schools, I thought it necessary to resign in front of you,” she said. “School board, I quit. I quit your policies, I quit your trainings, and I quit being a cog in a machine that tells me to push highly politicized agendas on our most vulnerable constituents – the children. I will find employment elsewhere. I encourage all parents and staff in this county to flood the private school.” I honestly hope no private school or any other ever hire her. Newsflash, lady: trans students go to ALL schools, not just public ones.
- If she expects her Christian values to be respected, she needs to extend that respect to others. What’s insane about conservative Christians is that they believe their personal faith should be taken as rule of law and that they should be able to tell everyone else how to live and act based on their beliefs. Then, when people push back against that, they pretend to be persecuted. It’s interesting (but not surprising) to me that Morris clearly values her faith to the point that she considers it a fundamental part of her identity, and yet she can’t fathom that a trans student’s identity is who they are and to invalidate that is a terrible offense. Loudon County schools are no doubt better off without her and other teachers like her.
