A policy that would mandate that parents be informed if their child uses a pronoun that differs from their biological sex at school is being considered by the trustees of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, which is located close to Houston.
The new policy is similar to the gender fluidity guidelines of nearby Katy ISD, which mandate that children use locker rooms and restrooms that match their biological sex. An ongoing federal inquiry, headed by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, was prompted by concerns about that policy.
READ MORE: A federal Title IX probe into Katy ISD’s gender fluidity policy
The proposed policy from Cy-Fair ISD would require parents to seek in writing an accommodation that would allow their child to use their chosen pronouns at school. However, district documents state that if calling that pupil by their preferred pronouns conflicts with their own truly held beliefs, staff members may request their own accommodation.
During a sometimes contentious board meeting on Monday, trustee Julie Hinaman expressed worries that enacting a policy that mirrors Katy ISD’s gender fluidity policy may also prompt inquiries into whether the criteria are constitutional. According to district officials, including trustee Todd LeCompte, the proposed policy would comply with state law.
According to the proposed policy, gender identity is defined as a belief that supports hormone therapy or other medical treatments or procedures to temporarily or permanently alter a person’s body so that it matches a gender different from that person’s biological sex, or that a person’s biological sex is different from that person’s biological sex or should be changed to match a gender.
Associated with Cy-Fair After trustees reduced librarian employment in half, ISD libraries are often shuttered.
According to a district paper, parents play the most important role in guiding their children’s beliefs and safeguarding their health and wellbeing.
According to the Houston Chronicle, within the first few months of the district’s contentious policy being put into effect, more than 20 Katy ISD students came out to their parents as transgender.
Cy-Fair ISD trustees stated on Monday that the new policy is being considered in response to parental concerns and a lack of clarity surrounding the district’s current policies involving pupils with gender preferences. After board vice president Natalie Blasingame gave the committee documents from the Austin-based conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation, the district’s policy committee began debating the policy.
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Blasingame claimed to have received high-quality material from the organization during the Monday meeting, but she denied ever communicating with anyone from it.
Hinaman stated during the meeting that it is promoting a proposed board policy created and supported by TPPF, an outside group that has openly and forcefully argued against public education and in favor of defunding public schools.
Since I don’t follow TPPF’s policy directives, I ignored the identical material when I received it, she said.
On Tuesday, the organization was not immediately available for comment.
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Cy-Fair ISD parents and children expressed disapproval of the proposed policy. According to Mo Hatfield, a recent district graduate, pupils would not benefit from the policy.
According to Hatfield, a lot of trans and non-binary students also look to their school as a supportive setting.
According to Hatfield, this policy change would eliminate a sizable population from all educational resources, including fully optional library books. How does failing to teach students about others equip them to be global leaders in the twenty-first century? Students will suffer psychologically and physically as a result of this policy.
At its meeting on Thursday, the board of trustees is scheduled to cast its first vote on the contentious policy.
