Another Wisconsin teacher is under scrutiny after posting a TikTok video presenting an “Inclusivity” survey administered to students. @LibsofTikTok shared the video, originally posted by Emily Orns, a Sturgeon Bay High School Family and Consumer Sciences teacher under the username wisconsin_sunflower. The video of the survey, which has since been deleted, asks students for their preferred names and pronouns and explicitly asks whether they want this information kept secret from their parents.
The post received immediate criticism from Wisconsin officials, including Congressmen Derrick van Orden and Tom Tiffany.
Congressman Tiffany right pointed out that Wisconsin Assembly Bill 103 explicitly prohibits the outcome the survey is designed to produce: the secret or unauthorized use of preferred names and pronouns by staff. Introduced on March 4, 2025, by Wisconsin State Representative Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) and several Republican co-sponsors, with Senate co-sponsor Senator Jacque, the bill requires all Wisconsin school boards to adopt two specific policies by July 1, 2026:
- A “legal name and pronoun records policy” governs any changes to official school records.
- A “name and pronoun usage policy” governing what school staff may call or refer to students during school hours.
Key provisions (verbatim where relevant):
- “A pupil’s parent or legal guardian determines the names and pronouns school staff may use to refer to the pupil who is a minor during school hours.”
- “During school hours, school staff may not refer to a pupil who is a minor by using a name or pronouns that do not align with the pupil’s biological sex without written authorization from the pupil’s parent or legal guardian.” (Shortened versions of a student’s legal first or middle name are exempted.)
- For official record changes involving a minor, the school must notify parents or guardians with access rights, provide an opportunity to respond, require affidavits if legal name-change documentation is unavailable, and deny the request if not all parents or guardians support it.
The survey featured in Orns’ video would be prohibited under AB 103. By asking students for preferred names and pronouns and whether to keep this information secret from parents, the survey enables the practices that AB 103 forbids. Staff may not refer to minor students by preferred terms that differ from their biological sex without written parental authorization. Administering such a survey directly violates the law’s parental-determination and written-authorization requirements. The bill became law after passing both chambers, and districts must implement compliant policies by July 1, 2026. All Senate Democrats voted against the bill.
In summary, Libs of TikTok highlighted Orns’ survey as an example of schools encouraging students to conceal gender-related preferences from parents. AB 103 was enacted to prevent this practice by requiring parental consent and control, making such surveys illegal under the new law. The bill’s passage, with unanimous Democratic opposition in the Senate, underscores the partisan divide regarding parental rights and school staff autonomy.
The Heartland Post has contacted the Sturgeon Bay School District for comment.
