Credit to Haley Beffa

The Gender Sexuality Alliance club, also known as GSA, is a club based around giving students a safe space to express their sexuality and gender identity. The club was founded three years ago when the organizer, Ashley Seiss, got a job as an English teacher at FHN. Since that time, she has worked to offer the students of FHN a safe space to express themselves comfortably without the fear of judgment. But this year, the school put in place a new regulation, which will change the course of the club for everyone involved.

“I think it is going to do more harm than good,” said English teacher Ashley Seiss. “It will prevent kids from having a safe and affirming adult in their lives.”

This new policy, Regulation 6116, prevents teachers from talking to students about their gender identity, without permission from their parents. Meaning if a child tells their teacher to call them by a specific set of pronouns or name, that teacher will then have to discuss it with that child’s parents, or have the risk of losing their job otherwise.

“This should not be allowed in our schools,” said Adrianna Kuhn, a speaker at the August 15 Francis Howell School Board meeting regarding the new regulation. “Encouraging children to change genders is unethical on multiple levels.”

At the board meeting, students from Francis Howell North and people involved with the Francis Howell School District gathered to meet, discuss, and vote on the policy, banning discussion of gender identity in schools. The students and those involved with student life argued that the freedom of expression one gets from openly discussing their gender identity makes them feel more comfortable and motivated to go to school.

“We’re afraid of our families being blended with other people who don’t have our values or don’t share our identities,” said Jamie Martin, another speaker.  “It’s just time to let go of all that fear.”