A Minnesota mom, Emily Zinos, encountered transgender ideology at her children’s school four years ago. Nova Classical Academy, a nationally ranked charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota, received national attention when kindergarteners were introduced to the idea that a boy could change into a girl. Eventually, the school adopted a “gender inclusive policy.”

Zinos turned those educational struggles into something good, as she’s helping parents around the country understand how the growing gender activist movement negatively affects parental rights and the privacy, safety and health of children. She also helped create a new resource, “Parent Resource Guide: Responding to the Transgender Issue,” that educates parents about the transgender issue and equips them to advocate on behalf of their children.

We think you’ll be encouraged by hearing some of Emily Zinos’ story and about this new resource for parents concerned about transgender activism in schools.  

Q: The initial version of this resource was for Minnesotans. How did you and the Minnesota Family Policy Council get involved in creating this guide?

A: In 2015, I received an email from the principal at my children’s public charter school explaining that a “gender nonconforming” boy had enrolled in kindergarten and, within the space of a few months, the family had announced that their son was really their daughter. What followed were school staff trainings on “gender inclusion”, an insistence that girls’ restrooms be opened up to boys, and finally, demands that the transgender propaganda book I am Jazz be read to kindergarteners without parent notification or permission.

Along with many other parents at our school, I immediately recognized these proposed changes as a threat to student health and well-being, including for those students who identify as transgender. Despite pleas from parents for a reasonable solution, our school board made the wrong choice and adopted what’s called a “gender inclusion policy,” effectively erasing recognition of sex from all policy and practice.

Since then, I’ve been passionate about making public schools aware of the role they play in encouraging irreversible medical harms when they pass policies that celebrate gender identity ideology. I work as an independent contractor for Ask Me First MN at Minnesota Family Council, and the “Minnesota Parent Resource Guide: Educating and Equipping Parents on the Transgender Trend” was borne out of my desire to offer parents positive and constructive policy ideas that would protect all students in public schools.

Q: The Minnesota “Parent Resource Guide” broadened from your state to become a resource for parents in other states. Who are some of the groups involved in the launch of the revised, national guide?

A: Minnesota Family Council received a high volume of requests to adapt the “Parent Resource Guide” for use in other states, so I offered to manage the creation of a new guide, which ended up being quite different from the first. One of the key goals I had for the national “Parent Resource Guide: Responding to the Transgender Issue,” was to gather support from organizations across the political spectrum. Because public schools are for all kids, no matter their family’s religious or political convictions, I wanted this Guide to represent concerns shared by all sorts of families.

The Supporting Organizations on the guide have all played a role in educating the public on this issue, from a variety of viewpoints. The Heritage Foundation and Family Policy Alliance have made significant efforts to make the public aware of the ramifications of gender identity laws, The Kelsey Coalition and Parents of ROGD Kids offer advocacy and support to families with trans-identifying children, and Women’s Liberation Front is the only radical feminist organization in the US which labors to expose the negative effects of gender identity ideology on women and girls. Working with a diverse group of organizations meant that the tone of the content can appeal to a wide audience, including school administration and board members.

Q: What are your concerns about gender ideology being taught in public schools?

A: My main concern is that schools which adopt so-called gender inclusion policies are unwittingly feeding vulnerable kids into a school-to-gender-clinic pipeline. Gender inclusion policies mandate the enabling of student social transition, which is not a neutral step in regards to child health.

Some studies have connected social transition (a change of clothing, name, pronoun and facility use associated with the opposite sex) with the persistence of transgender identification, meaning that schools with gender inclusion policies are actually making it more likely that trans-identified kids will pursue medical transition later. Couple that fact with data that show the majority of kids seen at gender clinics have a serious mental health diagnosis that preceded their trans-identity, and one realizes that the most vulnerable kids are the ones most likely to suffer irreversible medical intervention. Why would any school want to enable outcomes like those?

Q: How will the resource help parents? And do concerned teachers have a place to turn for help and support?

A: First, the “Parent Resource Guide” is meant to awaken parents to the deeply troubling consequences of school policies that condone gender identity ideology because, many times, it is in seeing the consequences that we are moved to act. The Guide is also meant to give parents the easy-to-understand research-based arguments they need when proposing common sense solutions to school officials.

Finally, the guide clarifies the legal landscape for parents, so they can feel confident asking for better policies. Similarly, teachers will benefit from the guide, as an alternative source of information to the vast amount of one-sided staff training materials put out by national transgender activist groups. There is something for everyone in the “Parent Resource Guide!”


More resources:

American College of Pediatricians: Gender Dysphoria in Children


Focus on the Family: Transgender Resources

Resources When Your Child Encounters LGBT Ideology at School

Photo from https://genderresourceguide.com/