Education
BY VALERIA ESCOBAR
Trustees pass contested gender identity policy Fort Bend ISD’s new gender identity policy will require staff to notify parents if a student uses another pronoun, name or gender identity that doesn’t align with their birth-assigned sex. Following over an hour of public comment, the FBISD board of trustees approved the new policy in a 5-2 vote at the April 14 board meeting. Trustees Angie Hanan and Shirley Rose-Gilliam dissented. However, trustees who approved the policy said it solidifies existing procedures and ensures family involvement in their child’s life. The overview During public comment, nearly 40 parents, students, teachers and community members shared their opposition to the policy, many referencing the heightened risks of suicide among transgender youth that is exacerbated by threats to their safety in school and at home, according to the National
District could pursue land sales, bond Fort Bend ISD officials are considering a new bond election or land sales to fund high-need projects from the May 2023 bond referendum. During the April 7 work study meeting, Chief Financial Officer Bryan Guinn presented $119.78 million in projects that the district determined as high need, some which were delayed in November. Next steps While the board could apply $38.8 mil- lion from contingency funds, the remaining $81 million will have to be accumulated through land sales or a bond election, Guinn said. Land sales would take at least one year before receiving offers, but bond funds would be accessible immediately.
The approved policy states:
Staff can’t ask for preferred pronouns and must inform parents if a student changes their name, identifies as transgender or uses different pronouns Students must compete in sports and use facilities that match their birth-assigned sex Staff can’t diagnose gender dysphoria, and materials promoting gender fluidity will be removed
Even with parental permission, no one is required to use a student’s preferred pronouns
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Institutes of Health. Landon Richie, a former FBISD student and policy coordinator for transgender education at nonprofit Equality Texas, said he received the “life-saving” support as a student that this policy would prohibit. However, Carlos Jones, lead pastor of the Inspiration Church in Missouri City, said he believes the policy will allow all students to “have access to space that respects their dignity and privacy.”
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