On November 17, the younger daughter (who turned 11 only a month before) came home from school and announced to her mother and grandmother, “I’m a transsexual.”

A few months earlier, Janice had talked to the elementary school counselor about her concerns that her granddaughter had said she’d been “looking at things online” and seemed to be going through a phase of thinking she would like to be a boy. But Janice was hoping for help from the counselor, not further harm!

Janice took her granddaughter aside to ask her about her “decision.” The girl said her elementary school teacher and school counselor both completely support her decision. She insisted that it’s “who she is.” She said they both told her, "I will accept you for who you are."

The counselor also admitted to Janice that the principal and other school officials had known about this but purposefully not told the family. She said that the girl had told her teacher some time ago that she wanted to be addressed as a boy, with a male name and male pronouns. The teacher and counselor asked the principal how to proceed. Assuming that the mother would probably not agree, the principal consulted the school district’s attorney. The attorney said that the school could not call the girl by a boy’s name without informing the parent. So the decision was made by all four of them not to call the girl by a boy’s name – so they could avoid informing the girl’s family of what was happening. Furthermore, the relationship was to be “private” so that the counselor could be a “safe space” for the girl – “safe” from her mother and grandmother!