Fact Checker: Can Iowa students get a ‘gender transition plan’ without telling parents?

Parental rights and transgender-affirming policies have become a rallying cry with conservatives and among those vying for the Republican presidential nomination in the early nominating state of Iowa.

And the Linn-Mar Community School District once again found itself at the forefront of the national gender identity debate.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence, during Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, claimed: “The Linn-Mar community schools in Iowa had a policy where you could, you had to have a permission slip from your parents to get a Tylenol but you could get a gender transition plan without notifying your parents.”

The Iowa school district in 2022 adopted a policy that allowed students to request a "gender support plan." The plan outlined a student’s preferred name and pronouns as well as which locker rooms or bathroom the student would use. The student could choose whether the parents were informed.

Analysis

Citing a U.S. Department of Homeland Security study, a Fox News moderator warned “that violence against LGBTQ+ people is on the rise and intensifying” and asked Pence what he would do as president to protect LGBTQ+ people.

After stating that if elected president he would “stand up for the safety and civil liberties of every American, from every background,” Pence pivoted to the Linn-Mar policy.

“When the Linn-Mar Community Schools in Iowa had a policy where you could, you had to have a permission slip from your parents to get a Tylenol, but you could get a gender transition plan without notifying your parents. I weighed in with a foundation,” Pence said. “That’s not bad policy, that’s crazy.”

Pence went on to say that he support a federal ban on “transgender chemical or surgical surgery anywhere in the country.”

The Fact Checker’s analysis focuses on Pence’s use of the words “gender transition plan,” which implies medical care.

The Linn-Mar policies, adopted last year but largely in place at many other school districts in Iowa, spelled out inclusive practices for transgender students, including giving them access to restrooms, locker rooms or changing areas that correspond with their gender identity. Students in the seventh grade or above could request a “gender support plan” that calls for teachers and peers to address the student by a new name and new pronouns. The policy left it up to the students whether to notify parents.

The policy since has been amended to comply with a new state law that requires written parental permission for students to go by a pronoun or a name not assigned to them at birth. And it requires school staff to notify a parent if a student requests to be addressed by a different pronoun or name.

The current policy now states: “It is the goal of the district to provide a safe and supportive educational environment in which all students may learn. As part of creating that safe educational environment, no employee of the district will provide false or misleading information to the parent/guardian of a student regarding that student’s gender identity or intention to transition to a gender that is different from their birth certificate or certificate issued upon adoption.

If a student makes a request to a licensed employee to accommodate a gender identity, name, or pronoun that is different than what was assigned to the student in the student’s registration forms or records, the licensed employee is required by Iowa law to report the request to an administrator. The school administrator receiving the report is required by Iowa law to report the request to the student’s parent/guardian. This requirement also applies to all nicknames."

Iowa Republicans used the district policy as a driving force to enact the legislation and other measures that prohibit teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, to restrict the restrooms transgender students can use and to ban gender-affirming care like puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors.

Critics of Iowa’s new laws contend they endanger the safety, welfare and autonomy of transgender and gender-fluid youth, and adds to existing stigma and discrimination of LGBTQ youth, who already face higher health and suicide risks than their peers.

Pence’s campaign points to U.S. Health and Human Services guidance and its definition of gender-affirming care as involving “non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people.” The guidance states gender-affirming care includes “social affirmation,” such as adopting gender-affirming hairstyles, clothing, name, gender pronouns and restrooms and other facilities.

The argument, though, omits the principal definition of gender-affirming care in those same guidelines, which states it “is a supportive form of health care” that consists of “an array of services that may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people.”

Conclusion

Pence’s comments about Linn-Mar misconstrued the district’s former policy.

The policy codified then-existing practices and was in compliance with state law when it was enacted. According to an Iowa Department of Education policy and guidance provided at the time, students had a right to keep their transgender status private at school, and the district was to keep this information confidential.

The school district policy specifically addressed providing accommodations to students related to gender identity and providing a “gender support plan.” The student could choose whether parents were informed of the support plan, but the plan was not related to medical transition, which for minors requires consent from parents or guardians.

Linn-Mar policy does require parental permission to administer over-the-counter medication to students.

Pence’s campaign contends he was stating that parents should be notified if their child is being provided so-called “gender-affirming care” per government guidelines.

“Under President Pence’s administration, he will enact a plan to empower parents and ensure that they are aware when their children are receiving government-defined gender transition services,” per his campaign.

But given the context clues in the same sentence about needing permission to ask for Tylenol, it seems reasonable to interpret his remarks as a claim about medical transitions — which the school policy does not address.

We give Pence’s claims about a “gender transition plan” a D.

Criteria

The Fact Checker team checks statements made by an Iowa political candidate or officeholder or a national candidate/officeholder about Iowa, or in ads that appear in our market.

Claims must be independently verifiable. We give statements grades from A to F based on accuracy and context.

If you spot a claim you think needs checking, email us at factchecker@thegazette.com.

Members of the Fact Checker team are Tom Barton, Elijah Decious, Erin Jordan and Vanessa Miller. This Fact Checker was researched and written by Tom Barton.