Thursday’s business meeting will feature public comment and policy discussion regarding ongoing policy edits to bring the board in alignment (or not) with the Parents’ Bill of Rights.
The six policy edits discussed Nov. 2 could be approved or sent back again.
New policy proposals on Thursday will give the public a first look at how the board may attempt to finesse required parental notification into the so-called gender supports policy.
The board has been clear that it does not want to tell parents if a child changes his/her name and pronouns. The new Parents’ Bill of Rights, though, requires parental notification, absent credible threats of abuse.
Motion to approve First Reading (Multiple Policies)
• Policy 1735/4035/7235 − LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+) and Gender Supports Policy
• Policy 1310/4002 − Parental Involvement
The document link above for policy 1735 highlights the proposed changes. (Copied directly from the agenda, if links break.)
Previous language that favors cutting parents out remains unchanged.
The proposed changes include, “In accordance with North Carolina law, prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school records or by school personnel, school personnel must provide notice to the parent of the change per DPS procedures” (emphasis added).
The words “per DPS procedures” are intentional and repeated elsewhere. Those DPS procedures remain unclear. Is the board referring to other portions of the gender supports policy that remain unchanged? Or is some other procedure being written behind the scenes?
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in nearby Orange County have expressly chosen to defy the law outright, treating parents as a threat and inviting lawsuits.
Will the Chapel Hill-Carrboro decision come up Thursday in Durham as part of this discussion? That’s certainly possible.
Below are excerpts from existing language that remains unchanged in the proposed Durham policy update. Are these the “DPS procedures,” or are these procedures still being formulated?
In some cases, transgender students may not want their parents to know about their transgender status. These situations must be addressed on a case-by-case basis and will require schools to balance the goal of supporting the student with the requirement that parents be kept informed about their children. The paramount consideration in such situations is the health and safety of the student.
School officials must be mindful that transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming youth often experience significant family challenges. Some transgender students have not talked to their parents about their gender identity and/or do not want their parents to know about their transgender status based on safety concerns or concerns about a lack of acceptance. The school principal or their designee should speak with the student first to ascertain concerns the student may have, what support may be needed to keep the student safe at school, and how to involve the student’s parents, if at all. As noted above, these situations must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
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