Parental pushback against a Central Bucks guidance counselor’s denied training request has resulted in several notable policy shifts, reports Shawnette Wilson for FOX 29 Philadelphia. 

First, the Central Bucks School District approved the one request to attend a transgender-inclusion seminar that sparked the controversy. Then, it opened the coursework districtwide to any educator who wanted it. 

The reversal is especially heartening for students like Daniel Mautz, 16. He easily recalls the early-age pain of feeling like a classroom outsider. 

“I’m transgender male and bisexual,” he said. “I remember coming home crying to my sister about how someone was telling me I was too manly or crying saying all I wanted to do was be a boy,” he said. 

Mautz hopes the training will prove helpful to students like him. 

When Central Bucks decided not to fund Dr. Steph Graziosi-Hibbs’ transgender seminar registration fee, local parents stepped in. 

Their GoFundMe campaign raised $5,000 to finance the course. By the time the donations had been tallied, the district had already reversed its attendance decision; therefore, the fundraising enabled five additional educators to go. 

Fourteen-year-old Lily Freeman says she identifies as a female of trans experience. She’s encouraged by staff who want to attend the training. 

“No matter what gender or sexual orientation, I want them to feel like they belong, and I feel like when teachers understand, they are able to create that environment,” she said. 

More on this story is at FOX 29 Philadelphia.