Three young boys who attend a Wisconsin middle school have been charged with Title IX-based sexual “harassment” for allegedly using “incorrect pronouns” with a disgruntled classmate, according to reports.
The three students did not use their classmate’s “requested pronouns of ‘they’ and ‘them,” prompting the school to charge the students with a section in the Title IX code prohibiting “gender-based harassment in the form of name-calling on the basis of sex.”
One of the student’s parents said she informed Kiel Area School District officials that “the use of the pronouns was confusing to her son,” who is 13, so she instructed her son to call the classmate by their name instead.
This is unreal. A Wisconsin school district filed a Title IX complaint against 3 middle school students, accusing them of sexual harassment for using incorrect pronouns when addressing another student. pic.twitter.com/GEEjXoEnxW
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 13, 2022
She disagreed with the allegations levied against her son, noting that sexual harassment means things like “rape, incest [and] inappropriate touching” and that her son “had no obligation” to use the classmate’s “pronouns.”
“What did my son do? He’s a little boy. He told me that he was being charged with sexual harassment for not using the right pronouns,” she said.
Attorneys from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) have stated that there is a “strong possibility” that the school will be sued, should the establishment not drop what they described as “wholly inappropriate” charges against the boys, and expunge their records.
“The mere use of biologically correct pronouns not only does not constitute sexual harassment under Title IX or the District’s own policy, it is also speech protected by the First Amendment,” the attorneys wrote in a letter issued to Kiel Superintendent Brad Ebert, Title IX Compliance Officer Megan Kautzer and Principal/Title IX Investigator Chad Ramminger.
The school’s principal apparently deleted his Twitter account after the story gained traction.
Update: the principal deleted his account pic.twitter.com/uZiZsC4zK1
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 14, 2022
The letter takes note that while both policies have a “catchall for ‘unwelcome conduct,’” prior court decisions have “made clear” that “commonplace schoolyard altercations, [such as] name-calling, teasing, and minor physical scuffles […] even where these comments target differences in gender” are not included.
“[The district] prohibits all forms of bullying and harassment in accordance with all laws, including Title IX, and will continue to support ALL students regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, sex (including transgender status, change of sex or gender identity), or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability (‘Protected Classes’) in any of its student programs and activities; this is consistent with school board policy. We do not comment on any student matters,” Ebert said in a statement.
