Good, but more will be needed.
A student activist group has filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against Katy ISD, claiming that the district’s gender fluidity policy is discriminatory.
The policy, approved by the school board in August, instituted multiple new mandates concerning transgender students, including a measure that requires teachers to report a student if they ask to be identified as transgender so the district can inform the student’s parents.
As of early December, 23 students had been reported to their parents as transgender since the policy took effect in August, according to documents obtained from the district through a public information request.
The youth-led organization Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, or SEAT, on Nov. 17 delivered the complaint to the federal department’s Office of Civil Rights, “asserting violation of Title IX rights with Gender Identity discrimination and perpetuating harmful sex stereotypes and heteronormative gender roles,” according to the complaint.
[…]
In addition to reporting transgender students, the policy also requires staff to use pronouns that correlate to the sex listed on a child’s birth certificate unless they have written parental consent.
“Katy ISD now has a comprehensive anti-trans policy that targets trans students for their identity,” said Cameron Samuels, a SEAT organizer. “(Katy ISD has) conducted an attack on students, questioning our validity and challenging our existence as students who undeniably are in schools, yet they face hostility and policies made against them.”
The policy is also a violation of privacy, said Katy ISD senior and SEAT organizer Pooja Kalawani.
“By enforcing this discriminatory policy, Katy ISD will be intruding on students’ free expression and privacy,” Kalawani said. “Our lives are not something to manipulate with narrow beliefs — cis or trans.”
Through the complaint, Samuels said, SEAT is seeking a “complete repeal of the policy and direct resources for students who are impacted (by the policy) and training for district personnel that would foster LGBTQ inclusion in the district.”
See here for the background. A couple of points need to be made. One, as the story notes, this isn’t really what the Title IX law is for. It’s about ensuring access to programs, and there isn’t a privacy aspect to it. There may be merit to the discrimination claims, but it’s not a clear fit as well. Be that as it may, the students’ goal is to engage the district in mediation, and that may work. I hope it works. But there’s a decent chance the district will consult with their lawyers, decide the students don’t have a leg to stand on, and simply choose to defend themselves until this gets resolved. Keep your expectations modest, is what I’m saying.
The more productive route to fighting this is the same old story we’ve been talking about here ad infinitum: Vote out enough of the problematic Board members until there’s a better majority that will implement better policies. I think we all understand the promise and the limitations of this approach. I’m not here to lecture anyone, I applaud these students for taking the action they have, especially since the next Katy ISD Board elections are a year and a half away and the most recently added members have another two years beyond that before they can be voted out. They’re taking the steps they can take for now, and we’ll deal with the other things when it’s time.
Finally, it’s important for the rest of us to remember that these students shouldn’t be fighting this on their own. The students have organized themselves for this fight, and I hope that other existing orgs are reaching out to them to see how they can help, and to offer those students the opportunity to build their network and get involved in other matters. We’re all in this together.
UPDATE: Katy ISD has elections this May as well. Thanks to Jesus in the comments for the correction.
I’m supportive of parental notification. It’s hard to argue that the child’s parents shouldn’t be informed, especially when everyone else in the school (e.g. peers, teachers, administrators) are being informed so they can use the applicable pronouns. Despite what some advocates want you to believe, being pro-parent notification is not being anti-trans. A child’s parents aren’t the child’s enemy and should not be kept in the dark. Most parents love their children very much – let’s trust them to help guide, support, and enable their own children.
Greg, mind your own damn business. If the student’s parents don’t know, there is probably a reason for that. Some of these kids will be kicked out of strict homes or face severe discipline. If you want to help trans kids here is a website that will allow you to give them gifts from an Amazon gift registry anonymously. I did it, you just add to your cart then be sure to select ship to gift registry address at checkout.
https://www.transanta.com/
Greg, if a parent is unaware of their child’s gender or gender preference or what they’d prefer to be called when it comes to pronouns, they have much bigger parenting problems than receiving or not receiving updates from the kid’s school.
Better yet, let’s be more concerned with Katy ISD using public funds (best I can tell) to build an $80M sports stadium and what could have been done academically with that money.
J and C.L., if the child tells everyone at school, the parents will eventually find out anyway (if they don’t already know). That being the case, I don’t understand the fierce opposition to school notification. Everyone else can know, but not the parents? Is the grapevine perferable to school notification? Again, the parents are not the child’s enemy.
I guess we will just have to agree to disagree. That’s what makes America great.
Rural Texas parents are not famous for tolerance and loving care. More like ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. CPS is overwhelmed. These are very personal decisions by kids who know what kind of trouble they can expect. I am aware of a trans adult who hid their life from their parents because the truth would probably cost them an inheritance and a chance at a comfortable old age. Very many people besides you should be minding their own business.
Charles, the next KISD board elections will be in May 2024
J, assuming the worst about rural parents is a mistake. I’m sure there are some bad ones out there, but most are good, decent, hardworking people who love their children more than anyone else ever will.
Except in cases of child abuse, I agree that people trying to come between parents and their children should mind their own business. Of course, just merely stating an opinion on a political blog isn’t really getting in anyone’s actual business, is it?
Mandatory parental notification is a way of coming between parents and their children, particularly when potential abuse is on the radar. Unfortunately, there are plenty of parents who are perfectly willing to make life difficult for kids who don’t live up to their preconceived notions. There are some who even kick the kid to the curb… check out Covenant House sometime if you doubt that idea. School can be a sanctuary for those kids.
Mollusk, do you think most parents would agree with your statement? I doubt it. It sounds like you’re telling parents they aren’t entitled to this important information about their own children because they can’t be trusted. Most parents would reject that argument. Anyway, the school keeping information about the child from the parents is the obstruction.
This isn’t a discussion about keeping parents abreast of academic performance and disciplinary issues – things that can be taught or guided.
Mr. Summerlin, it is clear that you have no concept whatsoever of what it is like to be the child of a homophobic parent. Being straight, gay, bi, transsexual, or whatever is neither a choice nor something that can be changed, much less “repaired.” Covenant House was created specifically to be a refuge for kids who were forced from their homes, quite often for not being straight – or sometimes for just not acting “straight enough.” Unfortunately it’s still a resource we need.
Based upon the reporting of Katy’s love of book banning, it’s EXACTLY the sort of place that should be prevented from prying into and reporting on kids’ intimate lives.
Why stop with transgender?
Your son is too fat.
Your daughter is too thin.
The schools have much graver problems then what gender someone prefers to be referred as.
I would say when one of those students takes their own life for the school telling the parents, maybe Greg would have second thoughts. I doubt it. Just like they don’t care about a woman who may lose her life for continuing a pregnancy.
My faith is proof that I am right. Right Greg?
I think this is the wrong hill for the trans community to pick a battle. I’ve had conversations with conservative people about this, and while my impression is that some are persuadable on the issue of not interfering in other families’ decisions about gender affirming care, they absolutely dig in their heels on the parental notification thing.
Greg raises a very good point, that nobody has yet to truly address- that if a student is openly living a different gender identity in school, in front of dozens if not hundreds of people, how long can that realistically be kept from their parents? To those of you worried (not without reason) that the parents could react negatively, how they find out absolutely could have a bearing on their initial reaction. It seems to me at best you delay the student being outed to their parents, which isn’t solving the underlying problem and is potentially making things worse.
I don’t pretend that I have an answer for this, but just on the pragmatic grounds of alienating people who at worst would be neutral on trans issues, and the fact that secrets that too many people know won’t get kept from the people you don’t want to know, I can’t agree with the policy not informing parents, outside of confidential sessions a student has with a school counselor.
Extremely well said, Fly.
Most districts do not have a parental notification policy, and I don’t see any stories reporting problems with this. The motivation for such a policy is repression of alternate gender expression by implicit threat. Is that ok? Also, I am not convinced that parents will know unless they are told by the school. My parents knew nothing of what went on in my schools, they just didn’t care. It seems to me that people with loving parents don’t want to think about or accept that in many families only certain children are loved, or none of them. If the parents care they will already know, or if they learn about it after a time there will not be a problem.
Fly, if everything was green or blue. This Katy ISD stating we don’t like transgender people. Like Trump and he will deport all children that can’t speak English. I am sure you and Greg are fine with that. Not worth the fight, right?
When is v it worthwhile to fight?
Well Manny, the fights that I see as the most winnable would be 1) Get the government out of family health care decisions, 2) trans students should have the right to talk about their issues in strict confidence to a school counselor- I don’t know if that’s the case in all schools, but it should be. 3) For those students unlucky enough to have unsupportive parents, get them a safety net in place for if and when they decide to be openly trans. But let’s not pile on even more burdens on overburdened teachers by demanding they chose between keeping a student’s secret or keeping their job.
Also “Like Trump and he will deport all children that can’t speak English. I am sure you and Greg are fine with that.”-Seriously?? Even after all the opposition to Trumpism I’ve been posting here for years?
While not relevant to the topic, I’m Pro-choice, pro-legal immigration (but I do support granting citizenship to the DREAMERS), and I’m anti-Trump. Geez.
Good thing people fought for civil rights, when it was not winnable.
Ukraine should have folded after a few days after Russia attacked.
Who would have thought a rag tag army could defeat the most powerful country in the world. US v Britain 17 hundreds.
Which fight do you think Democrats can win against Republicans here in Texas, fly?
Fly, what is worth fighting for?
FYI, I believe 2024 could be the year that Texas votes for a Democrat for president.
Review your Civil Rights history Manny. There were reasons why people like Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson were chosen to be on the front lines. I have never said “don’t fight”, and I never will. But I will say “don’t pick the wrong battles” and “know your opponents”.
I am not transgender, so whom I or for that matter you to tell them when to fight? Or what is worth fighting for for them.
A lively discussion, with many valid points, and, through it all, Manny didn’t call anyone a fascist. It’s a Christmas miracle!
Greg, anyone I compare to MAGA or Trump, is probably a fascist. Sorry, no miracle.
Fly and Greg, like good MAGAs you switched the topic. They are not fighting for anything, they are defending against a new policy of Katy ISD.
Suggested New Years Resolution:
Stop calling anyone who doesn’t share your viewpoint a fascist or bleeding heart liberal.
Stop assigning the same attributes or beliefs to everyone who may had a (D) or (R) or (I) behind their name.
Believe miracles Can happen.
If it works for you c.l. go for it.
You could try ignoring Manny, maybe he will go away.
According to a news story today, HISD has 6300 homeless students. We don’t need to add to this number in Katy. The students don’t want the new policy, and I trust their judgement of the situation, as they are in it.
Here are some Xmas wishes for you—
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/18/2212232/-Christmas-wishes