‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’: Ohio schools caught saying they’d conceal trans students’ sex, complaint alleges

Administrators employed at two Ohio school districts told undercover journalists that the schools would allow a male student to access female sports and facilities and help hide his true identity at the parents’ request, according to recently filed complaints.

Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) filed federal Title IX complaints after hidden camera videos released by Accuracy In Media showed school officials from Springfield City School District (SCSD) and Norwood City School District (NCSD) making the admissions. The complaints were filed with the Department of Education (ED), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday and were obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“In my opinion, if we’re enrolling as a female, she plays sports as a female,” Kelly Cromlish, secretary and registrar of SCSD, said to investigators posing as prospective parents.

Cromlish went on to say it was the parents’ decision whether or not to reveal the student’s true gender and said it would be “discrimination” for the school to otherwise expose the fact. She advised the investigators to “just go with the flow.”

At NCSD, secretary Kelly Cornelius was also caught in a separate video advising the undercover investigators not to reveal the hypothetical transgender child’s biological sex.

“You know, there’s a weird kind of culture where it’s almost like a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Cornelius said in the video, adding that most teachers would respect students’ false gender identities. “It’s not really so many eyes watching, but Norwood is pretty accepting.”

Cornelius said that since the male student is “female on the birth certificate,” he would be able to use the girls’ restroom and locker room.

Neither school district responded to the DCNF’s request for comment.

“Forcing girls to view male genitalia and to be viewed by a male is sexually harassing,” the complaints read, calling on the agencies to investigate the districts. “Even if undressing does not occur, placing girls in vulnerable and private positions where even partial undressing occurs with biological males can lead to fear and discomfort for girls, which is also sexually harassing. This is especially problematic if the harassment leads to lost athletic opportunity or fear of participation due to feeling unsafe on the playing field or locker room.”

PPT described the schools as “demonstrating deliberate indifference to harassment,” “at the very least.”

“This continued disregard for state law and Title IX by multiple schools in Ohio just goes to show how pervasive this destructive ideology extends to the education world,” Michael Chamberlain, director of PPT, told the DCNF. “The unfortunate truth is that too many of those we trust our children’s education to hew to the same fads and groupthink, regardless of where the mass of opinion lies in their particular communities. Even worse, when these beliefs clash with the law and common sense, their reflex is to hide what they are doing, rather than re-evaluate and course correct.”

Schools in at least two other Ohio districts have been exposed for similar conduct, and those districts have subsequently been hit with similar federal complaints by PPT.

Ohio law requires schools to base facility use on biological sex and bans sex-change procedures for minors, including hormone blockers. President Donald Trump has also signed executive orders banning men from competing in women’s sports and declaring the federal recognition of only two biological genders.

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