Fox News Digs Up 2021 Cincinnati Public Schools Memo That Mentions Trans Students

Cincinnati Public Schools is pushing back against an article posted on the Fox News website that resurrects an excerpt from a 2021 Cincinnati Board of Education memo.

The article, posted May 18, says the board instructed the district to “consider reporting child abuse to child protective services if a student’s parents are unsupportive of his or her gender identity,” pointing to a Sept. 13, 2021 memo from the board’s Policy and Equity committee. The article states that the memo was distributed to all CPS principals via email at the start of the 2021 school year as the district’s official position.

“Parents may or may not be supportive of the student's gender identity,” the board’s minutes reads under a section titled “Title IX Update” on page 30. “This information should not be shared with parents if disclosing the information to parents could put the student at risk of harm at home. In that case, the administrator should also consider whether there is a mandatory duty to report child abuse to 241-KIDS.”

The article features an interview with Nicki Neily, the president of Parents Defending Education, a national organization that crusades against what it calls “gender ideology.”

"It is unconscionable that a public school system would casually toss families into the wood chipper of the child protective services bureaucracy based on mere speculation that parents may or may not be ‘supportive’ of a child’s gender identity," Neily told Fox News.

But CPS told CityBeat the claims made in the story are inaccurate and misrepresented.

“Cincinnati Public Schools is aware of a Fox News article that is filled with inaccuracies and misleading inferences about the district to support their article narrative,” a CPS spokesperson told CityBeat in an email. “The District does not recommend, suggest or require any staff member to report parents or guardians for child abuse if they are unsupportive of a student's gender identity."

A 2021 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found transgender adolescents are more likely to be abused at home than cisgender adolescents, with 73% of transgender adolescents reporting psychological abuse, 39% reporting physical abuse and 19% reporting sexual abuse.

CPS emphasized to CityBeat that the district reports all suspected cases of child abuse, no matter the child.

"Regardless of the reason, cause or situation, staff are required to report child abuse if there is evidence or signs of abuse per the Ohio Revised Code 2151.421 in all circumstances. Cincinnati Public Schools has requested Fox News to update their article to reflect actual policy and procedures as required by law," the district said.

Fox News did not respond to CityBeat's request for comment by press time.

Republicans in the Ohio House are working to pass a bill that would outlaw gender-affirming care for minors in the state. If House Bill 68 is passed, it would prohibit physicians from prescribing cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers, and from performing any type of gender-affirming surgery on minors, which is very rare. HB 68 would also bar Ohio physicians from “aiding and abetting” gender-affirming care for minors in other states.