I don't think the school was providing the puberty blockers - the nurse didn't say that, she only said that there was a girl who was on them.flockofseagulls104 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 1:37 pmWell, I don't. The parents are legally responsible for their underage children. The school is being entrusted with their care. The school has no right, either legally or morally, to encourage or maybe incite behavior in the children in their care without the parent's consent. They would not do the same thing with tobacco use, drug use and other behavior, as the nurse points out. Why is this behavior exempt? That does not even take into account the allegation of the school supplying puberty blocking drugs to a minor. It is not clear whether the parents know about this, but there are many reports that some schools ARE doing this without the parent's knowledge. That is not only wrong. I think it is evil.earendel wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 1:22 pm
I don't doubt that the nurse told the truth. However the question I have was whether it was appropriate for her to do so. As the article points out, health care professionals have an obligation toward confidentiality and while the nurse didn't name names, it is still not appropriate for her to single out the 11-year-old student on puberty blockers and the others who identified as non-binary.
That said, there is also the issue of her saying that 10 of those non-binary students were keeping this from their parents. Again, this isn't really her business to be telling, but laying that aside, the reason(s) for the students not telling their parents may be as numerous as the students themselves, including, yes, the possibility of abuse. I know of two individuals who were abused because of their decision to come out as non-binary. Anecdotal evidence is not the best, of course, but it does happen and since we don't know the students' reasons, it's not for us to say. As for the school's role in keeping student confidentiality, I think that is appropriate.
Regarding the confidentiality issue, while the school might (I don't know what the rules are in that state) but tobacco use or drug use are harmful to the student so it would be appropriate for the school to take action. Claiming to be non-binary is not harmful, except if there is the possibility of abuse from those parents, in which discretion is called for. Again, since we don't know why the students wanted this kept from their parents, it's hard to judge what's appropriate.