BUCKS, Pa. – Newly appointed Central Bucks Board of School Directors, Karen Smith, was sworn into office Monday, however, unlike other her newly sworn fellow Board members who placed their hands on the more traditional Bible, Smith opted to use a stack of books on LGBTQ+ themes and race that had been banned by the previous board.

Smith, an incumbent Democrat, who won re-election on Nov. 7 was sworn in as the new Central Bucks school board president after a vote by the board. In her remarks she told the audience, “Thank you for your trust in me. I do not take this hand lightly. I feel it as a very heavy responsibility, and you have my word, I will do my best for everyone,” Smith said. “To my supporters, I am so very thankful. To those of you who have challenged me, I will do all I can to hear your voices and concerns.” 

Fox News and conservatives including the former GOP-majority board members labeled one of the books Smith used to be sworn in to office as ‘sexually explicit.’ That book, “Flamer,” written by openly gay author Mike Curato, received a Lambda Literary Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature in 2021. Curato is a Filipino-American writer and illustrator of children’s books.

Fox characterized ‘Flamer’ as “It tells the story of a character who is bullied at a Boy Scouts summer camp for “acting in a manner considered stereotypical of gay men.” The graphic novel includes characters discussing pornography, erections, masturbation, penis size, and an illustration that depicts naked teenage boys.”

Journalist Chris Ullery reporting for the Bucks County Courier-Times newspaper noted:  Smith, named president of the board, and the other Democrats on the board have long cried foul as the former GOP-majority forged ahead with controversial library policy that critics said was a defacto book ban.

According to the Courier-Times, the book on top of the stack Smith was sworn in on was “Night” by Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winning author Elie Wiesel, which was part of a February controversy over books.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, reported that a Central Bucks South High School librarian’s ninth grader sent him a quote from Wiesel’s 1986 Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented,” said Wiesel.

The librarian included the quote along with a copy of Night in a library display; however, this was shortly after the former school board passed a “neutrality” policy that barred classroom displays advocating politics or social policy unless related to a lesson.

School officials at the direction of the former GOP-majority Board ordered the librarian to remove the display, though that order was rescinded the next day and the posters allowed. The incident went viral on social media generating a flood of criticism for the district, which later apologized and said it regretted the decision to remove the posters.

That neutrality policy, Policy 321, was one of four policies placed on a freeze by Smith and her colleagues when they took office on Monday.

In addition to ‘Flamer,’ the Courier-Times noted, Smith brought along three other titles she was prompted to read when they first appeared on the Woke PA list.

Donna Gephart’s “Lily and Dunkin,” a copy Smith borrowed from Holicong Middle School for Monday, follows the story of the friendship between two eighth graders, a transgender girl and a boy with bipolar disorder.

“Lily and Dunkin” was said to contain “strong sexual content” by Woke PA and some parents who complained to the district, a claim Smith told the Courier-Times gave her pause. 

“I read all the way through the book and there’s nothing. There’s not even a kiss,” Smith said.

The only reason Smith could determine for the “sexual content” warning was the fact that one of its main characters was transgender she said to the paper.

“Just the existence of a transgender student in the book was enough for some folks who want to challenge it, and it’s a beautiful story,” Smith added.

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – The suspect in the murder of openly gay journalist Josh Kruger, 39, was taken into custody Wednesday evening a Philadelphia Police spokesperson confirmed. Robert Davis, 19, of the city’s Point Breeze neighborhood was arrested and is being held without bail.

On Thursday morning, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said that they plan to charge Davis with murder, possession of instrument of crime, tampering with evidence and related offenses.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Davis sneaked through the window of his family’s South Philadelphia home Wednesday night after more than two weeks on the run and asked his brothers for help.

Davis’ older brother Jaylin Reason, told the Inquirer his brother appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was acting erratically. While trying to calm Davis down, Reason said, they got into a fight. He realized, he said, that the best assistance he could offer his brother was helping him surrender to police.

“I didn’t want him to keep living outside and going around and doing something to put himself in a deeper hole,” he added. Reason told the paper that he calmed Davis down, and then asked his other brother to call the police. Together, they went outside, sat on the steps, and waited for 17th District officers to arrive. Davis surrendered and was taken into custody.

In a series of interviews in early October with the Inquirer, Davis’ family told the paper that a years-long sexual relationship involving drugs factored into the murder. Davis’ mother and older brother are alleging Kruger commenced a sexual and drug relationship with the teenager four years ago when Davis was 15.

Damica Davis told the Inquirer that her son had been deceptive about the relationship with the journalist instead claiming that he was seeing an older white woman he had met online who worked for the ‘government and the messages on his mobile from “Josh” he claimed were because “Josh” was the woman’s gay brother.

Reporting on the arrest, the paper noted that Reason said Davis had said he wanted to tell police everything, including the troubling details that he and Kruger, 39, had been in a sex and drug-fueled relationship since Davis was just 15. But Reason told his brother not to say anything to law enforcement officials until the family got him a lawyer.

Davis was arraigned on the charges Thursday afternoon. A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 13.

Family of man who shot journalist claims drugs & sex were a factor

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – The William Way Community Center announced that it has cancelled an Oct. 29 tribute event for murdered gay journalist Josh Kruger citing allegations of sexual abuse and providing drugs to a minor raised in a Philadelphia Inquirer story earlier this week.

The LGBTQ center in a Facebook post issued a statement on Friday that said:

“The William Way Community Center has decided to cancel the Celebration of Life for Josh Kruger scheduled for October 29th, 2023 at the Center. With the allegations that have recently surfaced about Josh’s murder and the complexities involved, we don’t believe that we can create a safe space, either for Josh’s friends and family, or for those who have rightful anger and concerns over allegations of child sexual abuse. As more is revealed about the facts of the case, we hope that together we can figure out the right next steps to acknowledge and remember the many victims in this case– individuals, families and communities.”

As Philadelphia homicide detectives continue the search for 19-year-old Robert Davis, a South Philadelphia resident, Davis’ mother and older brother in a series of interviews with the Philadelphia Inquirer are alleging Kruger, 39, commenced a sexual and drug relationship with the teenager four years ago when Davis was 15.

The Inquirer reported that sources said detectives were investigating explicit photos and messages in Kruger’s phone. The sources did not say whether the content was connected to Davis, but said the images and messages were being analyzed by the Special Victims Unit.

Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore told reporters that the contents of Kruger’s phone are part of the investigation as detectives seek to learn more about why he may have been killed. But critical details of what happened, he said, lie with Davis, who remains at-large.

“I think he could answer a lot of questions if he comes into custody and surrenders,” Vanore said. “It might help us put all this together.”

Police sources say that although Kruger was open about parts of his life, publishing stories about his struggles with being HIV positive, homeless, and his own addition struggles, he was still concealing parts of his life, and that also meth was found in his bedroom as police searched his home for clues to his murder.

Homicide detectives working the case even as they continue to search for Davis, are working to figure out how it all fits together in what has turned out to a very convoluted and complicated story.

“We’re looking at everything as part of the case,” Deputy Commissioner Vanore said.

Related:

Family of man who shot journalist claims drugs & sex were a factor

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – In a series of recent interviews with the Philadelphia Inquirer, the family of the man police are seeking to arrest for the shooting of openly gay journalist Josh Kruger, told the paper that a years-long sexual relationship involving drugs factored into the murder.

As Philadelphia homicide detectives continue the search for 19-year-old Robert Davis, a South Philadelphia resident, Davis’ mother and older brother are alleging Kruger, 39, commenced a sexual and drug relationship with the teenager four years ago when Davis was 15.

Damica Davis told the Inquirer that her son had been deceptive about the relationship with the journalist instead claiming that he was seeing an older white woman he had met online who worked for the ‘government and the messages on his mobile from “Josh” he claimed were because “Josh” was the woman’s gay brother.

More alarming was the escalation of the teen’s drug use.

The Inquirer reported:

Damica Davis and her older son Jaylin Reason said in an interview that Davis faced mental health issues from a young age. He struggled to control his anger in school, his mother said, partially because of the absence of his biological father in his life, and often got into fights. When he was about 15, she said, his troubles intensified after he started sneaking out in the middle of the night and coming home high on drugs.

Davis sometimes returned home with expensive gifts, such as designer belts and Gucci pants, they said, and would tell his family the woman bought them for him. He’d sometimes stay out until early morning, they said, and return under the influence of drugs. They found needles, pills, and other drug paraphernalia in his pockets, and believe he became addicted to meth.

Damica Davis said that she tried to get help for her son but that resources were limited. He never stayed long at any rehabilitation facilities, she said, and other institutions “treated him like a prisoner.”

According to Damica Davis, in the call with her son this past Friday just hours after Philadelphia police burst into her South Philadelphia home looking for him, Davis admitted to her and his brother that he had been seeing Kruger all along.

Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore told reporters that the contents of Kruger’s phone are part of the investigation as detectives seek to learn more about why he may have been killed. But critical details of what happened, he said, lie with Davis, who remains at-large.

“I think he could answer a lot of questions if he comes into custody and surrenders,” Vanore said. “It might help us put all this together.”

Damica Davis and her older son Jaylin Reason told the Inquirer that Davis told them Kruger was threatening to post sexually explicit videos of him online before, police say, Davis shot Kruger.

Police sources say that although Kruger was open about parts of his life, publishing stories about his struggles with being HIV positive, homeless, and his own addition struggles, he was still concealing parts of his life, and that also meth was found in his bedroom as police searched his home for clues to his murder.

Homicide detectives working the case even as they continue to search for Davis, are working to figure out how it all fits together in what has turned out to a very convoluted and complicated story.

“We’re looking at everything as part of the case,” Deputy Commissioner Vanore said.

Read the entire Philadelphia Inquirer story here: [Link]

Philadelphia police seek to arrest man in murder of gay journalist

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – Lt. Hamilton Marshmond of the Philadelphia police Homicide Unit told reporters Friday that an arrest warrant has been issued for a 19-year-old man he said detectives believe was responsible for the shooting death of a gay journalist on Monday.

Marshmond stated that police are searching for South Philadelphia resident Robert Davis, who was acquaintance of 39-year-old Josh Kruger, who was found lying in the street outside his Point Breeze home suffering from seven gunshot wounds. Responding officers rushed Kruger to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Marshmond told reporters Kruger had been trying to help Davis, who was facing various troubles including homelessness. “He was just trying to help him get through life,” Marshmond said.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Marshmond told reporters the motive for the killing remains under investigation, and it’s unclear how Davis got into Kruger’s home, which showed no signs of forced entry. He said video of Davis near the area at the time of the shooting, and tips from Kruger’s friends and family about their earlier interactions led investigators to him.

Davis’ last known address was on the 1600 block of South Ringgold Street, police said, just a few blocks from Kruger’s home on the 2300 block of Watkins Street.

Marshmond said Davis was known to police and had been arrested before, but declined to elaborate on officers’ earlier interactions with him. Court records show that Davis was arrested in August and charged with criminal trespassing and mischief, but the District Attorney’s Office withdrew the charges at a preliminary hearing the following month.

He warned that Davis “is considered armed and dangerous,” and that anyone who sees him should not approach him but instead call 911. Those who have information that could lead police to him are asked to call (215) 686-TIPS (8477).

There is a $20,000 reward for information that results in his apprehension and arrest.

A celebration of life and tribute to Kruger has been scheduled for the afternoon of Oct. 29, at William Way LGBT Community Center.

Related:

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that investigators have said that they have a person of interest in the murder of a gay journalist earlier this week but declined to release a name.

According to the Inquirer Philadelphia homicide investigators have identified a person of interest in the death of Josh Kruger, a journalist and advocate who was shot inside his home Monday.

Police are searching for a man — whom they declined to identify — who they believe may have information on what happened to Kruger, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore. An arrest warrant has not been issued, he said, but detectives want to bring the man into custody and ask him some questions.

Vanore said investigators have not identified a motive for the killing, but they believe the shooter was someone Kruger knew. “We don’t want to close any doors,” he told the Inquirer. “We’re working hard to try and fortify that person of interest.”

According to Officer Shawn Ritchie, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, 39-year-old Kruger was shot in his Point Breeze neighborhood home in the 2300 block of Watkins Street in South Philadelphia early Monday morning at about 1:30 a.m.. He collapsed in the street after seeking help and was transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:13 a.m.

The Inquirer also reported that multiple law enforcement sources indicated that preliminary evidence and interviews indicate the killing may have been domestic in nature, or drug-related. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man police are searching for had previously broken into Kruger’s home and was struggling with drug addiction.

The local PBS/NPR affiliate, WHYY reported Kruger had written extensively with bylines in multiple publications, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine, The Philadelphia Citizen, WHYY, and Billy Penn.

CBS News reported that Kruger overcame homelessness and addiction to work for five years in city government, handling Mayor Jim Kenney’s social media and serving as the communications director for the city’s Office of Homeless Services.

He left city government in 2021 to return to journalism, according to his website.

Related:

Openly gay journalist shot dead at home in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – An openly gay journalist was shot to death in his Point Breeze neighborhood home in the 2300 block of Watkins Street in South Philadelphia early Monday morning.

According to Officer Shawn Ritchie, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, 39-year-old Josh Kruger was shot at about 1:30 a.m. and collapsed in the street after seeking help. Kruger was transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:13 a.m.

Police said that Kruger was shot seven times throughout the chest and abdomen and that no weapons were recovered nor have any arrests been made. Homicide investigators noted that there was no sign of forced entry and the motive remains unclear.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement:

“Josh Kruger lifted up the most vulnerable and stigmatized people in our communities — particularly unhoused people living with addiction. As an openly queer writer who wrote about his own journey surviving substance use disorder and homelessness, it was encouraging to see Josh join the Kenney administration as a spokesperson for the Office of Homeless Services.

Josh deserved to write the ending of his personal story. As with all homicides, we will be in close contact with the Philadelphia Police as they work to identify the person or persons responsible so that they can be held to account in a court of law. I extend my deepest condolences to Josh’s loved ones and to all those mourning this loss.”

The local PBS/NPR affiliate, WHYY reported Kruger had written extensively with bylines in multiple publications, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Magazine, The Philadelphia Citizen, WHYY, and Billy Penn.

CBS News reported that Kruger overcame homelessness and addiction to work for five years in city government, handling Mayor Jim Kenney’s social media and serving as the communications director for the city’s Office of Homeless Services.

He left city government in 2021 to return to journalism, according to his website.

“He was more than just a journalist,” Kendall Stephens, who was a friend and neighbor of Kruger’s told CBS News. “He was more than just a community member. He was somebody that fought that great fight so many of us are not able to fight that fight because we’re too busy sheltered in our own homes wondering if someone is going to knock down our doors and kill us the same way they killed him. The same way they tried to kill me. And we’re tired of it.”   

Jim Kenney, the Mayor of Philadelphia, said in a statement that he is “shocked and saddened” by Kruger’s death.

“He cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing. Our administration was fortunate to call him a colleague, and our prayers are with everyone who knew him.”

Shocked and saddened by Josh Kruger’s death. He cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing.

Our administration was fortunate to call him a colleague, and our prayers are with everyone who knew him. https://t.co/dnRxQ0Ic3W

— Mayor Jim Kenney (@PhillyMayor) October 2, 2023

The District Attorney’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee issued the following statement:

“Many of us knew Josh Kruger as a comrade who never stopped advocating for queer Philadelphians living on the margins of society. His struggles mirrored so many of ours — from community rejection, to homelessness, to addiction, to living with HIV, to poverty — and his recovery, survival, and successes showed what’s possible when politicians and elected leaders reject bigotry and work affirmatively to uplift all people. Even while Josh worked for the Mayor, he never stopped speaking out against police violence, politicized attacks on trans and queer people, or the societal discarding of homeless and addicted Philadelphians.

“We are devastated that Josh’s life was ended so violently. We urge anyone who has information that could lead to an arrest and prosecution for Josh’s murder to contact the Philadelphia Police or the DA’s Office directly. LGBTQ+ Philadelphians experience violence of all kinds every day; few people used their platforms to remind powerful people in government of that reality as effectively as Josh Kruger did. Josh and the communities he advocated for every day of his life deserve nothing less than justice and accountability for this outrageous crime.”

DOYLESTOWN, Penn. — With guidance from religious extremists, a Republican-majority school board in Bucks County, Penn. is on course to achieve a trifecta in anti-LGBTQ+ policies. The board of directors of the Central Bucks School District has proposed a ban transgender student-athletes from competing according to their gender identity. 

Central Bucks has already been accused of discriminating against LGBTQ+ students by introducing policies banning Pride flags in classrooms and prohibiting library books with what the board considered “sexualized content.”

Now, advocates for LGBTQ+ students said the board will create a hostile environment and violate federal and state anti-discrimination laws that could land the district in court.  Again. 

The latest proposed ban is called Policy 123.3, “Sex-Based Distinctions in Athletics,” which would prevent student-athletes from participating on teams that does not match their sex. Disputes would be settled by a review of a student’s original birth certificate, meaning that a revised birth certificate for a transgender student would not be accepted. 

As the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, the proposal also says that athletic teams shall not be segregated on the basis of gender identity, which the policy deems to be “irrelevant classifications.” 

Transphobic and antisemitic comments have been a hallmark of the district’s public meetings since at least 2021, and public comments about such claims of “grooming,” “transgenderism” and “the transgender industry” have been heard at every monthly meeting in 2023 thus far. 

But at its public meeting of the policy committee held on Wednesday, there was not one person who cited a specific issue regarding a single trans student in the district participating in sports. The members in favor of the new restrictive athletics policy said they were being proactive.

“We’re talking about protecting sports for biological girls,” said board member Sharon Collopy, as tapintodoylestown reported. Her stance was echoed by Mara Witsen of Chalfont, calling the policy “preventative.” Witsen added that the district’s policy would also prevent female trans student-athletes from other districts from participating in sports with cisgender girls at Central Bucks schools.

Former English teacher Katherine Semisch asked the board to talk to the families of transgender children to get their perspective. “We all need more fact-finding and listening,” she said. “Fears in our community have outrun information.”

Board member Mariam Mahmud said she was opposed to the policy, calling sports a “lifeline” for many students. “This policy takes away from every kid participating” in sports, she argued.

Mahmud blasted Policy 123.3 as “an extension of other discriminatory policies that our students, parents and taxpayers have come out to speak against.” She predicted that if adopted, the policy will create legal problems for the district.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has twice taken Central Bucks to federal court for infringing on the rights of LGBTQ+ students, allies and a middle school teacher. The district has defended its policies, banning teachers from discussing LGBTQ+ issues and displaying Pride flags, by saying it merely prevents them from advocating one way or another as authority figures. 

On May 12, the library coordinator for CBSD sent an email to colleagues, instructed school library staff to remove all copies of two books within 24 hours: “Gender Queer,” a graphic memoir by Maia Kobabe that includes cartoons of sexual encounters; and “This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson, a guidebook with illustrations intended for LGBTQ+ students who feel overlooked by standard sex education curriculums. 

As of press time, 22 states have banned transgender student athletes from playing on teams that match their gender identities, according to the Movement Advancement Project. But Pennsylvania is not one of them. A bill passed by the Republican-led General Assembly last year would have barred “students of the male sex” from girls’ sports teams, but was vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf. 

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association governs school sports and has a one-line policy on trans student-athletes: “Where a student’s gender is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the principal as to the student’s gender will be accepted by PIAA.”

The proposed policy “violates Title IX and related regulations and guidelines and further exacerbates the hostile environment for LGBTQ+ students that CBSD has created,” the Education Law Center, a legal group that advocates for underserved students, said in a statement to the Inquirer. 

As the Inquirer and Reuters reported, Central Bucks did not get here on its own. The proposed sports policy was introduced following a presentation to the board last year by Greg Brown, a professor in exercise science at the University of Nebraska, who said that “males have undeniable, biologically based athletic advantages over females, in pretty much all sports.” Brown has served as an expert witness for Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian legal group labeled an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center that has represented clients opposed to LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights and defended laws criminalizing gay and lesbian sexual conduct. 

According to two people involved in the drafting of the other anti-LGBTQ+ policies, the board received advice and legal counsel from other Christian non-profit organizations allied with the influential national group the Family Research Council, which advocates for religious freedoms and against LGBTQ+ rights. 

The proposed sports ban is to be considered at the next meeting of the school board in September. 

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on May 2 voted 102 to 98 to approve a bill calling for protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, marking the first time such legislation has passed in either the state House or Senate in the 47 years since similar bills have been introduced.

Supporters have said the outcome of the bill, called the Fairness Act, is uncertain in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate, where the legislation is now headed.

“Today is a historic day, as we take a critical step to make Pennsylvania fairer,” a joint statement released by the six Democratic House members who were the bill’s lead sponsors.

“The Fairness Act is as simple as it is substantive,” the statement says. “H.B 300 would protect LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians from facing discrimination and allow all individuals in the commonwealth to file complaints with the PA Human Relations Commission,” it says.

“Now, we call on the Senate to quickly consider and pass this legislation and send it to Governor Shapiro’s desk,” the statement concludes.

Only two Republicans joined 100 Democrats in voting for the bill, according to the Philadelphia Gay News. The PGN reports that GOP opponents, among other things, brought up arguments that the legislation would require women’s sports teams to allow transgender women to play on those teams.

The gay newspaper noted that Pennsylvania is the only state in the northeast that doesn’t have a statewide LGBTQ nondiscrimination law. It reports that on the local level, about 73 municipalities in the state have passed LGBTQ nondiscrimination laws, but almost 2,500 municipalities that make up about 65 percent of the state’s population do not have such laws.

At least 22 states and the District of Columbia have enacted LGBTQ rights laws. Although LGBTQ rights advocates have called on the other states, including Pennsylvania, to pass such laws, activists have also pointed out the landmark 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., ruled that LGBTQ people are protected under the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.

That law bans discrimination in employment and other areas based on a person’s sex or gender as well as other factors such as race, religion, and ethnicity. In an action that surprised many legal observers, the Supreme Court ruling said LGBTQ people were protected under the sex or gender provision in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

DOYLESTOWN, Pa.  Teachers at Central Bucks West High School in Bucks County say they were told by administrators to not use a student’s preferred name or pronoun if it does not match with the information in the school’s database. 

The new policy known as the “Gender Identification Procedure” introduced at a faculty meeting six days into the school year, prohibits staff and faculty from using a student’s chosen gender identity by administrators who also told them they have to follow parents’ or guardians’ wishes if they differ from a student’s.

Philadelphia’s local PBS and NPR outlet WHYY News reported that the new policy has received pushback from teachers including Becky Cartee-Haring, who has taught English at Central Bucks West for 16 years.

“A lot of us are distraught,” she told WHYY adding, “I physically felt sick in that meeting, listening to an administrator basically argue that we were going to protect ourselves by outing children … it’s heart wrenching … It’s just cruel.”

“What the children wanted was completely irrelevant,” said David Klein, who has been teaching social studies at Central Bucks West for 26 years.

Klein said he’s not going to follow the new procedure.

“There’s no way I’m hurting a kid. Hell no. I cannot be complicit in harming children,” Klein said, raising his voice. “And I said this in the meeting … this is the most at-risk marginalized group of students, they need our support more than anyone else. No! Kid says, ‘Call me Tony,’ I’m calling them Tony!”

Being forced to misgender or deadname a student is unacceptable to some of the teachers including Klein at Central Bucks West.

Klein said even if he faces a parent who does not want their child to be called a name that the child prefers, he will continue to prioritize the student.

“My job is to educate your kids, to prepare them for the future, to make them feel safe, period. That’s my calling. Pardon me,” Klein told WHYY choking up. “I’m calling you Tony because you need to feel safe in my classroom. How else are you going to learn? And if they want to fire me, that’s their business.”

Two Legal groups say this new policy may run the risk of putting the school district ‘legal hot water.’ The ACLU of Pennsylvania’s legal director Vic Walczak warned “That right does not exist, at least not in the way that these parents are trying to claim it does,” referring to the impetus behind the new policy by some parents who had pushed for it.

WHYY also reported that Kristina Moon, senior staff attorney at the Education Law Center, pointed out that federal courts have recognized “a student’s right to privacy in their sexual orientation and gender identity, including with respect to their family members.”

“Persistently and purposely misgendering students … can also be considered harassment that violates both federal anti-discrimination laws and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Walczak added. “It potentially is going to get the school district into legal hot water.”

Moon said the U.S. Office of Civil Rights has also recognized that a school’s policy or practice of refusing to use a transgender student’s pronouns violates Title IX and equal protection rights.