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Hardline conservative lawmakers want Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to review school board guidance on transgender students saying it “is dangerous.”
The Texas Freedom Caucus’ request foreshadows how Republicans are expected to target LGBTQ issues during this legislative session.
The Texas Association of School Boards has long offered guidance to district leaders on “issues related to transgender students.” The group’s 13-page document provides advice on how to approach various topics, such as which bathrooms students can use.
“The Texas Freedom Caucus humbly requests that your office issue immediate review of TASB’s guidance and offer our school boards legal direction to ensure our schools remain safe and healthy environments,” Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, wrote in a Tuesday letter.
The TASB guidance explains that the state does not have a final decision outlining how a district must respond to a transgender student who asks to use communal sex-specific facilities that align with their gender identity.
Still, the guidance reads, students have a right to be free from discrimination or harassment based on their gender identity. At the same time, it reads, “other students may claim a right to privacy or raise a safety concern about sharing a sex-specific facility with a transgender student.”
“Districts are tasked with finding a reasonable resolution that addresses each situation as best as possible, in light of nondiscrimination principles and practical options,” it reads.
School administrators should talk with the student and their parents to determine their preferences, TASB recommends. From there, options include giving a student access to a private unisex restroom or offering access to communal facilities that align with their gender identity.
“There is no law that prohibits a district from granting the transgender student’s request to use these facilities,” the guidance reads. “If other students or their parents object to the use of a sex-specific facility by a transgender student, a school district may be able to amicably address the competing interests by making individual-user facilities and private areas available for all students.”
Texas Freedom Caucus members wrote to Paxton that the TASB guidance “is dangerous for girls, and runs counter to sound legal principles.”
Their request taps into conservative fury, fueled by a belief that schools are subverting parents’ rights when it comes to their children.
The TASB guidance repeatedly mentions that parents should be consulted on many decisions, though it emphasizes schools must “proceed with caution” in some cases.
The group warns administrators that transgender students are at a heightened risk of harm or self-harm when their family members disagree with their gender identity. Because of that, a student may request that school staff not tell their parents about their gender identity.
It may be possible to reach an agreement with the family in which staff calls a transgender student by their preferred name at school but uses the name on the student’s birth certificate in communications with the parents, the guidance reads.
“Ultimately, the best advice is to assess each situation as it comes, working closely with the student, parents and district counsel to reach a resolution that protects the learning environment for all,” it reads.
Paxton previously weighed in on another issue influenced by TASB guidance. Last May, he issued an opinion saying Texas public schools can’t withhold students’ health information from parents.
North Texas districts are dealing with these questions locally.
At a board meeting this fall, for example, Frisco ISD leaders said that fewer than 50 students out of about 40,000 in secondary schools asked for a bathroom accommodation.
“To our knowledge, transgender students have never harmed another student,” Erin Miller, chief student services officer, told trustees at the meeting.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, Todd A. Williams Family Foundation and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
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January 19, 2023 at 12:07AM
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Texas Freedom Caucus to Paxton: Review transgender student guidance - The Dallas Morning News
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