8.23.22 – Dallas Morning News

“What does the new Grapevine-Colleyville schools policy mean for LGBTQ kids?”
The trustees took aim at pronoun usage, bathrooms and classroom discussions
By Talia Richman and Valeria Olivares

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After hours of public testimony and debate that stretched late into Monday night, the Grapevine-Colleyville school trustees passed a broad set of policies that restricts how teachers can discuss gender and sexuality with students.

Here is what the new policies lay out:
Pronouns

The district will not require or encourage the use of pronouns for students or teachers that don’t align with the person’s biological sex, as listed on their birth certificate.

Should a student get parental permission that specifically requests a teacher use a certain pronoun for the child, staff may company [comply]. But they are not required to use the pronouns requested by the family.

… Many transgender and nonbinary teenagers now identify with pronouns that differ from the ones used when they were younger.

Bathrooms

The district will require – as permitted by law – that every multiple-occupancy bathroom or changing facility be used only by people based on their biological sex.

“This policy does not prohibit the District from providing reasonable accommodations upon request,” it states.

LGBTQ advocates across the country have fought back a slew of so-called “bathroom bills” debated in state legislatures in recent years, which would prohibit transgender people from using bathrooms or locker rooms that aligned with their gender identity.

Sexual orientation

District staff should not talk about sexual orientation or gender identity until after a child has finished fifth grade, the policy states.

They must also not teach or promote “gender fluidity,” which the trustees defined as “the view that it is possible for a person to be any gender or none (i.e., non-binary) based solely on that person’s feelings or preferences.”

Sports

In alignment with Texas code, the district will not allow a student to compete in a sponsored athletic competition “designated for the biological sex opposite to the student’s biological sex,” according to government-issued documents.

“The District may allow a biologically female student to compete in an interscholastic athletic competition that is designated for male students if a corresponding interscholastic athletic competition designated for female students is not offered or available,” it states.