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Classrooms belong to academic education, and schools must shift their focus to supporting parental rights over student privacy policies that sideline families.

Our children belong to their families, not to the state or school administrators. The primary mission of our educational system is to teach foundational academic subjects such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history. Too often, however, schools have overstepped by prioritizing student privacy rights over the rights of the parents who raise them.

As parents, we have an absolute right to know what our children are experiencing. If a child is questioning their gender or asking to be called by a different name at school, parents must be notified immediately. School staff have no right to interfere with the family dynamic or keep secrets from mothers and fathers. Raising children and offering them emotional and practical support is the solemn responsibility of parents.

Some will argue that this creates a false binary and ignores educators’ role in loco parentis during school hours. However, this temporary delegated authority exists to support instruction and safety, not to supplant parents’ fundamental constitutional right to direct their child’s upbringing and care. True partnership means schools work with families rather than withholding critical information about profound identity or mental health matters.

Some will also claim that requiring parental notification leaves abused children without a confidential adult at school. This mischaracterizes the position. Schools must, and already do, report suspected abuse to authorities under existing law. The focus here is on routine situations involving gender questioning or social transitions, not imminent harm. Parents remain the primary and most invested guardians for the vast majority of children.

Young people experiencing distress should be treated with the same logical, therapeutic standards applied to any other mental health challenge. Concerns about changing genders for minors should be avoided entirely until age 18. Instead, they deserve years of consistent, deep mental health counseling to understand the root causes of their feelings.

Some will argue that this analogy to depression, grief, or suicidal thoughts is flawed because gender dysphoria has its own established medical approach of immediate affirmation. Yet the evidence for rushing to medicalization remains remarkably weak, as shown by systematic reviews like the Cass Review. Validating real distress does not require affirming permanent changes. Just as we do not reinforce depression or grief as permanent states, we should prioritize exploratory therapy, resilience-building approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and time for maturity over life-altering interventions.

Some will counter that other medical decisions for minors involve permanent effects, so gender-related care should be no different. The distinction lies in the high rates of natural desistance, diagnostic uncertainty in youth, and the profound lifelong consequences (such as infertility and bone density loss) of these particular interventions on otherwise healthy bodies. Caution until adulthood is responsible medicine, not neglect.

Schools must return to their core purpose. Classrooms should focus on teaching math, science, reading, and critical thinking skills that prepare students for success, leaving the raising of children to the parents who love them most. Policies that strengthen parental notification, prioritize academics over ideological agendas, and protect minors from irreversible decisions are essential to restoring trust in our education system.

As a parent and candidate for the Wisconsin State Assembly in District 80, I am committed to advancing these principles through legislation that places families first and ensures Wisconsin schools serve the best interests of our children.

Simran Arora is a Republican candidate for Wisconsin’s 80th Assembly District in central Dane County.