To the Editor:

Normally when there is a response to one of my expressed political opinions I read it but generally do not comment on it because I like to keep an open mind and understand that there are opinions other than mine that have validity.

But last week there was a response that was so vitriolic — not to say hysterical — that I feel I must respond.  [“Apparently Mr. Nardacci doesn’t understand privacy laws,” letter to the Altamont Enterprise editor, Sept. 14, 2023].

I will call the author “Berne writer” but will not name her because she has signed her letter, thereby displaying her shallowness to the entire Enterprise readership.

I have two thoughts on “Berne writer’s” letter, which attacked me for believing that schools have no right to keep secret from parents a child’s stated intention to be treated as a different gender.

First — “Berne writer” must be far too long away from school days to remember a simple fact: Students gossip.  If Johnny announces that he wants to be treated and addressed as “she,” that news is going to spread through the class at light speed.

Then there is a second fact: Students tell their parents things that happen in school.

And fact number three: Parents discuss school happenings among themselves.

Simply put — Johnny’s announcement is going to get back to his parents in very short order and the result could be a firestorm. So much for “privacy.”

The second brings me to the central point of my letter: Teachers and staff are employees of taxpaying parents, and the thought that some graduate with a bachelor of arts degree from an education college has higher authority over a child than that child’s parents is outrageous.

“Berne writer’s” diatribe is an example of political thought that is all too common these days — i.e., “Every  opinion other than my own is bigotry and those who express those opinions need to be censored.”  I think we can all be grateful that she does not have a classroom as her forum.

Michael Nardacci

Albany

Editor’s note: The New York State Education Department states in a best-practices document regarding student gender identity and sexuality, “When [transgender and gender expansive] students disclose their gender identity to school personnel, it is because they feel safe. However, as students may not have disclosed their gender identity to parents/guardians, friends, or even other school staff, it is important that school personnel receiving this information keep it confidential, unless the student explicitly states otherwise.”