US school district faces probe over transgender policy — RT World News
The U.S. Department of Education has launched a civil rights investigation into a South Texas school district, after LGBT student activists denounced the pronoun policy as discrimination.
The Katy Independent School District (ISD) near Houston serves about 94,000 students. Last August, its board voted that parents should be notified if students identify as transgender or ask to use pronouns other than their biological sex.
Cameron Samuels, who graduated from a Katy ISD high school in 2022, filed a complaint about the policy with the federal government.
The Department of Energy's Office for Civil Rights responded by opening an investigation against the district earlier this week “Discrimination on the basis of sex or disability” According to local media.
“I hope this helps set an example for other school boards around the country who are trying to pass similar policies.” Cadence Carter, a 17-year-old transgender girl who left the school district after the policy was enacted, told reporters Monday.
Katy ISD has denied any wrongdoing and said it does “Committed to providing equal educational opportunities to our entire community.”
The Education Department's move comes just weeks after the Biden administration redefined sex-based discrimination under Title IX of the federal civil rights law to include “Gender stereotypes, pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation.”
The new rules are supposed to take effect in August, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has already instructed schools in his state to ignore them.
“Congress wrote Title IX to protect women. [President Joe] Biden, without the authority to do so, rewrote Title IX to protect men who identify as women. Abbott he said last month. He called for new rules “Illegal dictation” Which violates Texas state laws prohibiting men from competing in women's sports.
Katy's policy, which the Board of Trustees approved by a 4-3 vote, requires students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that “corresponds to their biological sex” It prohibits district employees from discussing gender-related issues with students, allows teachers to decline requests to call students with pronouns that do not reflect their biological sex, and requires administrators to notify parents or guardians of such requests or identify as transgender.
“Using pronouns is a way of socializing children. We protect them from that.” School Board Chairman Victor Perez said at a board meeting last summer.
The district sent about 20 such notices in the first few months since the policy was adopted, according to local media. Carter was the only student to cite the policy as a reason for leaving the district.
