My dad, Howard, was our high school guidance counselor. So, when I was a little skinny freshman, the upper classmen gave me the nickname “Little Howie.”
It wasn’t optimal, but it could have been much worse.
Imagine today if a teacher had heard me answering to the nickname Little Howie. Would they be required to ask my parents to fill out a form confirming that, officially, I could go by Little Howie? Awkward, to be sure.
Sounds far-fetched? Well, school districts across Iowa are collecting student nicknames. And you have the thoughtful Republicans who control the Legislature to thank.
Republicans, in their crusade to target transgender kids, required schools to seek permission from parents to use a student’s names or pronouns if they are different from those listed on a school district’s registration forms. School districts, wary of violating the tenants of Senate File 496, the sweeping “education” bill signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, are now requiring parents to fill out forms reflecting any nickname different from what’s in district records.
If John goes by Jack, or Jessica goes by Jess, fill out a form.
The Iowa Department of Education has given school districts absolutely no guidance on how to adhere to the law. But Republicans who backed the bill claim schools have it all wrong.
“This is dumb and misleading, but Democrats don’t care because it advances their agenda. SF 496 only requires a parent to be notified if the name change is affirming a students gender identity,” Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Shipley got plenty of pushback from critics of the vague law.
Newsletter Signup
Delivered to your inbox daily
“No one is attacking ‘trans children’ It’s just the idea that God made a mistake, and that mistake can and must be fixed with drugs and surgery, is the dumbest, most illogical idea ever, and provokes harsh ridicule for its dangerous stupidity,” Shipley posted.
His critics weren’t satisfied. So he tried again.
“The comments on this thread make it quite clear: gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition that demands effective therapy. Which is why ‘gender identity’ must be accommodated as a disability, not it’s own protected class, under civil rights law,” Shipley posted.
Shipley, who the House website says was a salesman for Brine Brothers Sauerkraut, a professional advocate and a stand-up comedian, is not a psychiatrist. He just plays one in the Legislature. No major organization in the mental health field considers being transgender a mental illness.
What does Iowa law actually say?
“If a student enrolled in a school district requests an accommodation that is intended to affirm the student's gender identity from a licensed practitioner employed by the school district, including a request that the licensed practitioner address the student using a name or pronoun that is different from the name or pronoun assigned to the student in the school district's registration forms or records, the licensed practitioner shall report the student's request to an administrator employed by the school district, and the administrator shall report the student's request to the student's parent or guardian,” Senate File 496 says.
It’s that part about “the student using a name or pronoun that is different from the name or pronoun assigned to the student in the school district's registration forms or records” that is probably leaving school district officials confused and wary. Get it wrong and eventually the district superintendent could be subject to disciplinary action.
In my home district, Linn-Mar, which was the target of endless Republican derision due to its transgender student support policies, parents must fill out a “Request to Update Student Identity” form, including a student’s current name, other names, pronouns and gender identity.
If this is simply districts misconstruing the law, it’s tough to blame them for being cautious in the face of a Legislature clearly out to get public schools amid nonsense charges of student “indoctrination.” No superintendent wants to go through what Lin-Mar endured as a target of the Republican culture war and its cynical cry for “parents’ rights.” Never mind parents who disagree. We have the right to be silent.
But if this is indeed a subtle bit of civil disobedience by districts in the face of a ridiculous law, then well played. Very well played.
After all, why should it only be the parents of trans kids who must play this absurd nickname game? Everybody should get a taste of the intrusiveness brought to bear by overzealous lawmakers bent on scaring us about a threat that doesn’t exist.
The children you spit on, Rep. Shipley, either to score political points or to entrench your narrow, spiteful worldview, are not God’s mistake, nor are they mentally ill. They’re kids trying to live authentically without being singled out, bullied, or harassed. Gender dysphoria is really about mental health issues suffered by kids when society refuses to accept them as who they are and respect their rights.
Republican zealots are a big part of the problem. They suffer from legislative dysphoria, or the grandiose idea they get to decide how everyone lives their lives.
Take it from Little Howie, if God made a mistake, it was allowing cruel, heartless, politically opportunistic fear manufacturers to run and ruin the state. All it takes are votes to remedy the situation. That would be a real miracle.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
It wasn’t optimal, but it could have been much worse.
Imagine today if a teacher had heard me answering to the nickname Little Howie. Would they be required to ask my parents to fill out a form confirming that, officially, I could go by Little Howie? Awkward, to be sure.
Sounds far-fetched? Well, school districts across Iowa are collecting student nicknames. And you have the thoughtful Republicans who control the Legislature to thank.
Republicans, in their crusade to target transgender kids, required schools to seek permission from parents to use a student’s names or pronouns if they are different from those listed on a school district’s registration forms. School districts, wary of violating the tenants of Senate File 496, the sweeping “education” bill signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, are now requiring parents to fill out forms reflecting any nickname different from what’s in district records.
If John goes by Jack, or Jessica goes by Jess, fill out a form.
The Iowa Department of Education has given school districts absolutely no guidance on how to adhere to the law. But Republicans who backed the bill claim schools have it all wrong.
“This is dumb and misleading, but Democrats don’t care because it advances their agenda. SF 496 only requires a parent to be notified if the name change is affirming a students gender identity,” Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Shipley got plenty of pushback from critics of the vague law.
Opinion Newsletter Signup
Newsletter Signup
“No one is attacking ‘trans children’ It’s just the idea that God made a mistake, and that mistake can and must be fixed with drugs and surgery, is the dumbest, most illogical idea ever, and provokes harsh ridicule for its dangerous stupidity,” Shipley posted.
His critics weren’t satisfied. So he tried again.
“The comments on this thread make it quite clear: gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition that demands effective therapy. Which is why ‘gender identity’ must be accommodated as a disability, not it’s own protected class, under civil rights law,” Shipley posted.
Shipley, who the House website says was a salesman for Brine Brothers Sauerkraut, a professional advocate and a stand-up comedian, is not a psychiatrist. He just plays one in the Legislature. No major organization in the mental health field considers being transgender a mental illness.
What does Iowa law actually say?
“If a student enrolled in a school district requests an accommodation that is intended to affirm the student's gender identity from a licensed practitioner employed by the school district, including a request that the licensed practitioner address the student using a name or pronoun that is different from the name or pronoun assigned to the student in the school district's registration forms or records, the licensed practitioner shall report the student's request to an administrator employed by the school district, and the administrator shall report the student's request to the student's parent or guardian,” Senate File 496 says.
It’s that part about “the student using a name or pronoun that is different from the name or pronoun assigned to the student in the school district's registration forms or records” that is probably leaving school district officials confused and wary. Get it wrong and eventually the district superintendent could be subject to disciplinary action.
In my home district, Linn-Mar, which was the target of endless Republican derision due to its transgender student support policies, parents must fill out a “Request to Update Student Identity” form, including a student’s current name, other names, pronouns and gender identity.
If this is simply districts misconstruing the law, it’s tough to blame them for being cautious in the face of a Legislature clearly out to get public schools amid nonsense charges of student “indoctrination.” No superintendent wants to go through what Lin-Mar endured as a target of the Republican culture war and its cynical cry for “parents’ rights.” Never mind parents who disagree. We have the right to be silent.
But if this is indeed a subtle bit of civil disobedience by districts in the face of a ridiculous law, then well played. Very well played.
After all, why should it only be the parents of trans kids who must play this absurd nickname game? Everybody should get a taste of the intrusiveness brought to bear by overzealous lawmakers bent on scaring us about a threat that doesn’t exist.
The children you spit on, Rep. Shipley, either to score political points or to entrench your narrow, spiteful worldview, are not God’s mistake, nor are they mentally ill. They’re kids trying to live authentically without being singled out, bullied, or harassed. Gender dysphoria is really about mental health issues suffered by kids when society refuses to accept them as who they are and respect their rights.
Republican zealots are a big part of the problem. They suffer from legislative dysphoria, or the grandiose idea they get to decide how everyone lives their lives.
Take it from Little Howie, if God made a mistake, it was allowing cruel, heartless, politically opportunistic fear manufacturers to run and ruin the state. All it takes are votes to remedy the situation. That would be a real miracle.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: GOP anti-trans crusade in Iowa spawns the nickname game
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signs House File 2416 at The Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday, March …
www.thegazette.com
