Wisconsin school district faces lawsuit over teacher’s gender transition announcement.
Parent Sues Wisconsin School District Over Teacher’s Gender Transition Announcement
A parent is taking legal action against a Wisconsin school district after officials revealed a teacher’s gender transition to elementary school students without notifying parents.
Leah Buchman, a mother in the Eau Claire Area School District, filed a complaint accusing the district of violating open records law and keeping parents uninformed about the teacher’s announcement. The complaint was filed on Monday.
On June 5, the second to last day of the school year, all orchestra students at Northstar Middle School were gathered in the orchestra room. Present were orchestra teacher Jacob Puccio, a school counselor, and the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) director, Dang Yang.
During this gathering, the middle school students were informed that Puccio, their orchestra teacher, would be undergoing a gender transition from male to female, according to the lawsuit. Additionally, music students at three elementary schools and one high school in the district were allegedly read a scripted statement about the teacher’s gender transition.
Buchman, who has children in both the middle school orchestra and the high school band, initially requested a copy of the scripted statement but was denied. The school district claimed that an ongoing investigation into potential misconduct surrounding the June 5 announcement prevented them from releasing the document.
As a result, Buchman, along with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), filed a lawsuit against the district. They are seeking access to the statement under Wisconsin’s open records law.
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“All I am asking is for the school district to provide what was told to my children and their peers in the classroom. As a parent, it’s my responsibility to help my kids understand all that life throws their way, and I do not understand why it has taken the school district so long to update parents,” Buchman stated.
WILL attorney Cory Brewer expressed frustration with the district’s refusal to release the statement, saying, “It’s ridiculous for a school district to refuse to produce a statement that was read out loud to dozens of minor students in several district classrooms. What was told to these kids should be readily accessible to parents.”
Both Buchman and her attorneys have been denied access to the scripted statement under Wisconsin’s open records law. WILL criticized the district for potentially stalling the release of information to parents, as the investigation into the incident has not yet begun despite it occurring over a month ago.
Last year, the Eau Claire school district faced backlash for instructing teachers to conceal their students’ gender identity transitions from parents during a staff training. A slide from the presentation stated, ”Parents are not entitled to know their kids’ identities. That knowledge must be earned.” This training sparked outrage among parents at the time.
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