Pronouns Policy Considered for Students

The library of a school in Beaver County was packed one night last month. People had shown up in force to sound off on the rights of LGBTQ students. Many clutched Bibles and dueled with scripture verses as they debated whether it is a sin for a child to be transgender or non-binary.

At that second meeting of the South Side Area School District’s “pronoun committee,” two Christian pastors were asked whether it was true that all people are created equal.

The committee, formed last year, is tasked with researching a potential policy on preferred names and pronouns in the classroom. Four school board members are on the committee. School board President Bernice Woodling did not respond to a request seeking comment. Board members on the committee directed questions to district administration.

The school board also interviewed interested community members to sit on the committee and ultimately chose five. One of those members is chair of the Beaver County Moms for Liberty chapter. Moms for Liberty is a conservative, parents-rights organization that has made headlines for leading efforts to ban books they deem inappropriate from school libraries.  (Excerpt from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)