(Fox News) Sam Brinton, the non-binary former federal government official who is now facing the possibility of significant prison time, played a key role in developing a model school policy adopted in multiple states that instructs school districts to keep “unaffirming” parents in the dark about a potentially suicidal child’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
Brinton, a biological male who gained notoriety for being one of the U.S. government’s first non-binary officials, was recently fired from the Office of Nuclear Energy, an agency of the Department of Energy (DOE), after being charged with stealing airport luggage on multiple occasions.
Before joining the federal government, Brinton was in charge of advocacy and government affairs at the LGBTQ youth suicide prevention nonprofit The Trevor Project, where he helped craft a “Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention” in 2019 along with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American School Counselor Association and the National Association of School Psychologists.
Brinton cheered the model at the time, saying it’s “imperative” for school suicide prevention policies to be “LGBTQ competent.”
Sam Brinton attends The Trevor Project’s TrevorLIVE LA 2019 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 17, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California. (Tasia Wells/Getty Images for The Trevor Project)
“In addition, our research shows that more than half of LGBTQ youth are not out to a single adult in school; these policies show LGBTQ youth, out or not, that their school is a safe place for them to learn, and that school staff are prepared to help them in times of crisis,” Brinton said in a Sept. 9, 2019, press release.
The model, which has since been adopted at local and state levels across the country, places severe restrictions on what school officials can communicate with a parent or guardian if a suicidal student identifies as LGBTQ.
“While parents and guardians need to be informed and actively involved in decisions regarding the student’s welfare, the school mental health professional should ensure that the parents’ actions are in the best interest of the student (e.g., when a student is LGBTQ and living in an unaffirming household),” the model states.
“Recent research shows that LGBTQ youth who are rejected by their parents are at a much higher risk of depression, suicide, illegal drug use, and unprotected sexual practices,” it continues. “Conversely, acceptance and support by family results in higher levels of self-esteem, lower levels of suicidal ideation and self-harm incidents, and better overall physical health.”
Sam Brinton speaks onstage during the Trevor Project’s TrevorLIVE LA 2018 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on December 3, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images for The Trevor Project)
Under a section titled, “Special Considerations,” schools are told not to share a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation with a parent or guardian unless that student explicitly consents.
