Michigan school district erases terms such as ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ in the name of inclusivity, asks staff not to talk about it to media 

A Michigan public school district administrator instructed staff in an email not to use gendered terms such as “boy” or “girl” when referring to students.

Kara Davis, the executive director of teaching and learning at Saline Area Schools, sent the email last week after reportedly “receiving feedback” that teachers and staff were using gendered language to address students.

“I am confident that all volunteers want to create the best experience possible and would never intentionally exclude students,” Davis stated in the email, obtained and published online by Libs of TikTok. “I also recognize that there is historical accuracy to this practice, however I want to ensure we aren’t replicating harmful practices on students of today to model what happened historically.”  

Davis advised staff to instead use terms such as “students,” “children,” or “visitors.” 

And when dividing students into groups, she suggests teachers use methods that do not “harm to transgender and nonbinary students,” such as birthday-based grouping or number-based grouping. 

“Docents can explain that teachers historically may have organized their students by ‘boy/girl’ but should not actually employ it as a strategy,” Davis went on.  

After the policy garnered widespread media attention and criticism, Superintendent Steve Laatsch emailed district staff reiterating the policy. 

“Staff and volunteers had been asked to discontinue the practice of sorting groups by the labels ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ for activities (example: girls sit at the front of the classroom, boys sit at the back),” Laatsch wrote in the email, also obtained by Libs of TikTok. 

“While many education practices of that era were centered around the separation of genders, Saline Area Schools guides staff and volunteers to not demonstrate the separation of boys and girls in the facilitation of activities and reenactments.” 

Laatsch also urged staff not to respond to any media inquiries about the issue. 

In 2021, the district adopted a “Transgender and Nonbinary Students” policy that allows staff to keep a student’s gender identity from parents. 

“In general, school staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s transgender status to others, including the student’s parents or guardians and other school staff, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure,” the policy stated. 

The policy also requires teachers to use the preferred pronouns and names of students and allows students to dress and use bathrooms in accordance with their “gender identity and expression.”