Christina Bilyeu says the Spring Hill school district allowed the high school’s yearbook staff to purposely alter her daughter’s gender pronouns after her daughter objected to being referred to as “They/Them” in a featured article. Bilyeu is also appalled that the USD 230 administration deferred to the student-run organization’s policy, rather than district policy, in response to the mother’s complaint.
Bilyeu told a recent school board meeting that anticipation in receiving the new yearbook quickly dissolved into frustration for her and her daughter:
“We recently received our school yearbook, and I was excited to see it because I knew there would be an article in it about my daughter. As I started looking through the book, I noticed that all of the students were identified using ‘They/Them’ pronouns, which struck me as odd. Then I got to the article about my daughter, and I saw that she was also being referred to as ‘They/Them.’
“After speaking to my daughter, I found out that the article was originally written with her correct ‘She/Her’ pronouns, but the author did tell her that the article would be edited, and her pronouns would be switched to ‘They/Them.’ When she heard this, she went to the yearbook advisor and specifically requested that the pronouns that reflect her biology; her ‘She/Her’ pronouns, remain in the article. She was met with doubt, so trying to be accommodating, my daughter offered that they could just use her name and leave out pronouns. Well, you can see the results. The article was edited, and her pronouns were switched to ‘They/Them.’
“’They/Them’ pronouns are not default pronouns. They are used by people who identify as non-binary. My daughter was called ‘They’, or some form of that word, about 21 times in the yearbook. She was identified as non-binary against her will 21 times in her high school yearbook. My daughter’s First Amendment rights were trampled. Her specific request was ignored, and she was intentionally and publicly misrepresented. To ban or prohibit the use of male and female pronouns is sex-based discrimination.
“I assume that this was someone’s attempt at inclusion. We moved here last year from Lawrence, Kansas, and I worked in the school system there, where they put a huge emphasis on inclusion. Yet they would never force ‘They/Them’ pronouns on an entire student population, especially when requested not to by a student. They would respect student preferences at least. This is not inclusion. It’s the opposite. It’s exclusion, it’s discrimination.
“I contacted all of the administrators at the high school to express my concern and frustration, and the advice I was given was to take it up with the group of students at the school who form the yearbook staff, because they write their own manual for yearbook policies.
“This issue is bigger …. than pleading my case to a small group of students at the school who decided it was okay to take away my daughter’s right, her basic and God-given right, to be identified as female.
“The students of Spring Hill High School should not be neutered and have their gender stripped from them for the sake of some misguided attempt at inclusion. I hope you agree.”
Spring Hill administration endorses misgendering with “they/them” pronouns
Following the meeting, we reached out to Superintendent Dr. Link Luttrell for his reaction to Mrs. Bilyeu’s comments to the board. We received a response from District Spokesman Scott Peavey:
“The Spring Hill School District is aware of the concerns surrounding editorial decisions made in a recent student-produced yearbook. We appreciate those who have taken the time to share their perspectives and understand that those concerns stem from a genuine desire to ensure all students feel respected and represented. We also recognize that this issue has prompted important conversations within our school community, and we are committed to listening.
“The editorial decision was made using practices and guidance that have been part of the yearbook program for the past several years, including resources commonly used in student journalism. This practice has been applied to all students over the past four years. In light of the concerns raised, the district will conduct a comprehensive review of the policies and practices governing student publications.
“As part of that review, we will consider the feedback we have received, along with the guidance and resources used by the yearbook staff, to ensure clear expectations while supporting a high-quality yearbook publication and respecting the editorial independence of the yearbook program. Our goal is to support strong yearbook and journalism programs while thoughtfully evaluating our practices and learning from the feedback shared by our community.”
We asked Bilyeu her reaction to what appears to be a “hands-off” approach from the adult leadership in the district toward a student-run organization:
“I am concerned about the responsibility being deferred to the student yearbook staff, specifically the students on the publication team who, I was told by the administration, ‘adhere to the guidelines they set forth in their SPUB (Student Publications) Staff Manual.’ This manual is apparently written by this group of students and dictates not only the student yearbook, but the school newspaper and podcasts.
“I was told by an administrator at the school that ‘the SPUB Staff Manual policies are set by the students on our publications team.’ I was told that ‘they review and update their policies each year to create a new edition of their manual.’
“I was also told ‘to further address your concerns, I would encourage you to share your voice with our student publications team…as they look to enact their policies for the coming school year and write their updated SPUB Staff Manual.’
“Regarding the manual, I was told by an administrator ‘their policy on pronoun usage is found on page 8 at the bottom of the ‘Preferred Names’ section. Per their policy, they only distinguish from the use of ‘They/Them’ pronouns when a speaker/interviewee references a pronoun in a quote or interview. I would reiterate that the SPUB Staff Manual policies are set by the students on our publications team.’”
Bilyeu says her research later uncovered another example of the lack of district control of the school’s publications:
“No, I’m not making this up! It sounds like the students on the publications team are in charge of policy. However, I found out today that the school board never approved this manual that dictates school publications.
“Since I’ve only lived in this area for one year, this is the first SHHS yearbook I’ve seen, so I don’t know how long that this has been going on. Now, people are starting to look back at yearbooks from previous years, and they are seeing that it has been a gradual but increasing pattern for years.
“I don’t think the school board was aware of this student-written policy manual until the meeting last night, as it was never approved by the board. I hope they look into it and find out who’s pulling the strings. I believe most SHHS parents and community members would be troubled to see what’s happening, how students’ rights are being trampled and their identities intentionally misrepresented.
“Journalism is supposed to strive for accuracy. I perused the “SPUB Staff Manual,” and they claim to put a high importance on accuracy, and yet, they intentionally edited the article about my daughter to make it decidedly inaccurate.”
