Dripping Springs ISD tables student policy changes related to gender identity, sexual orientation
Dripping Springs ISD has postponed its discussion on proposed policy updates that considered removing "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" from the district's anti-discrimination and harassment language, the district confirmed Monday.
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — The Dripping Springs Independent School District has postponed its discussion on proposed policy updates that considered removing "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" from the district's anti-discrimination and harassment language, the district confirmed Monday.
The Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees reviewed on first reading April 15 proposed revisions to several local policies, including those pertaining to students, employees and the district's superintendent. A district spokesperson said Monday DSISD finished a review of its policies back in March, supported by guidance from the Texas Association of School Boards "to ensure alignment with state and federal laws and to standardize language across policies and procedures."
Some of those changes centered around removing repetitive language to streamline them, or adjusting any typos present in the existing policies. However, KXAN received several tips from viewers regarding the proposed policy changes, with specific concerns about how the possible policy amendments could impact LGBTQ+ students.
In a statement to KXAN, the district spokesperson said the recommended policy changes included "certain changes for consistency that have been perceived by some as an attempt to remove protections for LGBTQ+ students and staff." District officials told KXAN that was never the intention behind the proposed changes.
"The DSISD Board of Trustees and administration stand firm that bullying and discrimination are unacceptable and will not be tolerated - including if based on a person's status as part of the LGBTQ+ community," the statement read in part. "We care for the welfare and protection of all students and staff, including those in the LGBTQ+ community."
Initial proposed changes to policies
Under the superintendent's nonrenewal policy on page 7, the current language reads: “The Board’s decision to renew the Superintendent’s contract shall not be based on the Superintendent's exercise of Constitutional rights or based unlawfully on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.” Those previously proposed changes made would remove the word "identity" following gender, as well as the phrase "sexual orientation" from the paragraph.
For term contract nonrenewals outlined for district employees on page 47, the existing policy states: “The recommendation to the Board and its decision not to renew a contract under this policy shall not be based on an employee’s exercise of Constitutional rights or based unlawfully on an employee's race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.”
Changes initially proposed would again remove the word "identity" following gender as well as "sexual orientation" from that list of protected classes.
Regarding student policies, there were several proposed changes to the existing district language. Under the student welfare and freedom from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation section on 88, existing language says DSISD prohibits discrimination and harassment against students on the basis of several protected categories, including "sexual orientation" and "gender identity." Both of those protected classes were removed in the latest proposal that's since been tabled.
In that same section, DSISD currently defines discrimination on the basis of sex as including "discrimination on the basis of biological sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender stereotypes, or any other prohibited basis related to sex." That entire section was scratched out and removed in the proposed alteration.
Regarding DSISD's harassment definition, the district currently outlines it as "physical, verbal, or nonbverbal conduct" related to several protected categories for students, such as race, religion, age and disability. In that existing definition, both "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" or included as protected groups from harassment.
Under the updated student harassment policy proposal, both of those groups were removed.
The proposed amendments caught the attention of not only some district families, but state leadership. On Monday, Texas Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) shared a letter she sent to DSISD centered on her "profound concern regarding the proposal to remove the terms 'gender identity' and 'sexual orientation'" from several DSISD school policies.
"Regardless of the intent behind this proposal, visibly rolling back protections for LGBTQ youth and staff is harmful," Zwiener added in the social media thread. "Removing protections from these vulnerable populations not only undermines their safety but also perpetuates a culture of discrimination and exclusion."
The DSISD spokesperson added the policy updates had initially been on the DSISD Board of Trustees' Monday meeting agenda. Those have since been removed and the board will revisit the policy proposals with legal counsel before discussing them again at a later date.