Three students at Kiel Middle School have been charged with sexual harassment by the Kiel School District over their use of pronouns when addressing a fellow student.
The student told the class that they preferred the they/them pronouns earlier in the year, but three students failed to use them properly.
The School District claims that this is a violation of Title Nine, which prohibits gender-based harassment.
The boys’ parents are calling for the charges to be dropped.
One parent said that the they/them pronouns are confusing for children their age.
Most pronouns are singular in nature, but they/them is plural, which the parent said doesn’t make sense to their son.
Their lawyer also said that 8th graders should not be subjected to this kind of investigation, and that it is not sexual harassment under Title Nine, or the District’s own policies.
The District has until next Friday to respond before the parents could pursue legal action.
