A Wisconsin school district has ended its sexual harassment investigation against three eighth-grade boys who addressed another student with biologically correct pronouns instead of the student’s preferred alternatives.
As part of the effort to resolve the issue, the district said it had “issued clear directives and expectations to all students involved in this matter for the purpose of preventing bullying and harassment and ensuring a safe and supportive learning environment for all of our students.”
“Based on these actions, and pursuant to District policies and procedures, the School District considers this matter closed,” the message read.
The public school district, located in eastern Wisconsin, made national headlines after it opened a Title IX investigation against the boys for using “incorrect pronouns” on a classmate, who earlier this year declared a preference for “they” and “them” pronouns. The district’s reasoning is that once a student informs others of new preferred pronouns, any subsequent “mispronouning” will constitute sexual harassment under Title IX.
Title IX is the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. It is typically invoked in cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct such as rape, stalking, inappropriate touching, or quid pro quo involving sexual favors.
The boys and their families are represented by Milwaukee-based conservative legal group Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), which argued that what has been alleged against the trio doesn’t come remotely close to a Title IX violation.
Rose Rabidoux, a parent of one of the accused boys, told ABC 2 News that the non-binary they/them pronoun preference confused her son.
“It’s plural. It doesn’t make sense to him. I said so, I told him to call them by their names.” Rabidoux said.
Both WILL and Rabidoux said they welcome the decision to end the investigation. They also want the school district to make sure that the sexual harassment complaints are taken out of the boys’ academic records.
“While we are glad that the District has ended its investigation, this dispute should have never been escalated to this point,” Rabidoux said in a press release. “We expect the Kiel Area School District to ensure that this Title IX complaint is not on my son’s record.”
