Two Seattle public schools are offering free "gender-affirming care" to students as young as 11, while also instructing staff to hide students' gender identity from their parents.
Both Meany Middle School and Nova High School's medical centers list "gender-affirming care" as one of its services offered "conveniently at the school," though they do not specify what that "care" entails. Both clinics are operated by Country Doctor Community Health Centers, which includes in its "gender-affirming care" services referrals for sex-change surgeries, "hormone therapy for adolescents," and "assistance obtaining mental health letters of support for gender-affirming procedures."
Staff at these schools are also instructed, per Seattle Public School District policy, to hide students' gender identity from their parents, according to documents obtained by Parents Defending Education. It is unclear if the schools inform parents when a child seeks "gender-affirming care" at these clinics.
"It's bad enough that medical professionals are prescribing cross-sex hormones and cutting off breasts and genitals of minors," Erika Sanzi, director of outreach at Parents Defending Education, told the Daily Mail. "It is a whole new level of awful and terrifying for schools to be involved."
While these Seattle schools promote "gender-affirming care," lawmakers and medical professionals across the country are concerned about the long-term health risks of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatments for children. Over 20 states have banned the procedures for minors. Yet, blue states like Washington continue to support the treatments. In April, the Washington Senate passed a bill that would allow youth shelters "to hide minors who run away from home in order to obtain an abortion or sex change operations without parental consent," the Washington Free Beacon reported.
"Access to these services enables the early intervention, prevention, and treatment of health-related barriers to learning with the goal of promoting school attendance and improved academic performance," Seattle Public Schools said in a statement to Fox News.