If it hasn’t already become apparent that progressives believe kids should belong to the state, what they are trying to enforce in some parts of the country should solidify that reality. In Maine, officials are mulling a policy that could allow the government to take steps that would severely threaten parental rights. Under this measure, not only could public schools facilitate the transition of children who believe they are transgender, the authorities could possibly go so far as to remove young ones from their parents if the parents are not affirming of their gender identity.

Enforcing Gender Identity Ideology

The Maine Department of Education (MDOE) is contemplating the addition of a new chapter to its rules related to school counselors and social workers. It is considering allowing these officials to help children experiencing gender dysphoria to transition to the opposite sex without the knowledge or consent of the parents.

This development comes amid a national trend in which school districts are employing measures enabling teachers and other school staff to encourage and support gender transitions behind the backs of parents. When these practices were made public, it resulted in a widespread backlash coming from adults who were previously unaware that their children could be subject to these policies.

The proposal includes a section related to “privileged communication,” that suggests school counselors and social workers “may not be required…to divulge or release information gathered during a counseling relation with a client or with the parent, guardian or a person or agency having legal custody of a minor client.”

“A counseling relation and the information resulting from it shall be kept confidential consistent with the professional obligations of the counselor or social worker,” the rule adds. The section indicates that certain exemptions to this measure could apply in situations in which the child presents a “clear and imminent danger to [themselves] or others” and “the client’s condition requires others to assume responsibility for the client.”

These exemptions would have to be given under a section of Maine’s statutes called the Child and Family Services and Child Protection Act. It says a kid can be taken from their parents if a court determines “that remaining in the home is contrary to the welfare of the child.”

Under Maine law, abuse is defined as a “threat to a child’s health or welfare by physical, mental or emotional injury or impairment, sexual abuse or exploitation,” and also includes “aggravating factors” such as “any other treatment that is heinous or abhorrent to society.”

Courage is a Habit, an organization that advocates for parental rights, published a document explaining the issues with Chapter 117, a law allowing counselors to keep information from parents:

“Chapter 117 takes advantage of a law passed in Maine in 1989 that gives school counselors with a Master’s degree “privileged communication” so they did not have to share information with parents. But back then there were very few, if any, school counselors with a Master’s degree. They were the guidance counselors we all grew up with. If “client privileged” were invoked it was reserved for real abuse. More important, up until about 2014, school counselors were not activists and recruiters for the gender and sex ideology.”

The organization suggests that Maine’s redefinition of the word “abuse” is “how they are setting the foundation to separate children from their parents.”

Maine Isn’t Alone

(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

This development comes about a month after a state legislator in Virginia reportedly proposed a law that would criminalize parents who do not affirm their children’s gender identity. Democrat Delegate Elizabeth Guzman reintroduced a measure that would expand the definition of child abuse to apply to these individuals. “It could be a felony, it could be a misdemeanor, but we know that CPS charge could harm your employment, could harm their education, because nowadays many people do a CPS database search before offering employment,” Guzman said during an interview with ABC 7.

Leftists have been trying to advance these types of policies despite resistance from adults concerned about their children. The notion that schools should have the authority to make decisions for children without input from parents appears to be yet another method progressives are using to subvert their influence over young children.

What might be even more disturbing is the reality that most do not pay as much attention to the machinations of their state and local governments, meaning that MDOE could implement these rules without residents’ knowledge. When the nation is focused on national politics, it becomes easier for others to impose policies that might not be in people’s best interests.