The details
The revision, approved at the Aug. 26 school board meeting, will remove books in elementary and junior high libraries that contain material “adopting, supporting or promoting gender fluidity.” The policy also requires parents of high school students to opt-in if they’d like their child to access the material, according to the policy.
It also requires material vendors to follow the guidelines, including vendors selected for book fairs, according to the policy.
All trustees voted in favor of the revision except trustees Dawn Champagne and Rebecca Fox, who abstained. Fox and Champagne said they believed the board should focus on other other issues and the policy wasn’t needed due to KISD's existing Local FA policy, also called the Parent Rights and Responsibilities policy.
The existing policy doesn't allow gender fluidity to be part of instruction, instructional materials or any other curricular or extracurricular offerings, according to the policy.
What they’re saying
Board President Victor Perez said he believes books discussing gender fluidity are “complex, potentially confusing and should be addressed with parental guidance, and therefore not educationally suitable.” He also said he disagreed the policy was redundant, as the Local FA policy covers instructional materials but not library materials.
Champagne said she worried the revision will put an additional burden on librarians and open the district to potential lawsuits.
"I do not believe in the promoting of gender fluidity of children, ... but I am worried about potential lawsuits," she said.
Dozens of public speakers also voiced their opinions on the revision prior to the vote. Those in favor of removing books pertaining to gender fluidity cited parental rights and “protecting children,” while those opposed said they believe the policy discriminates against people who are nonbinary or transgender.
Amanda Rose, president of nonprofit Katy Pride and KISD parent, said they believe the policy will target and marginalize transgender and nonbinary students.
“It’s unfathomable that access to stories and books that otherwise meet district criteria but that celebrate and honor trans, nonbinary and other gender diverse identities and experiences would be deemed unsuitable for students to encounter in their school libraries,” Rose said.
Some context
This comes roughly a year after KISD trustees approved the Local FA policy that requires district staff to notify parents if their child requests he or she be identified as transgender, change his or her name, or use different pronouns at school, Community Impact reported.
Additionally, KISD trustees also adopted a revised policy on library materials last year to remove:
- Visual or visually implied depictions of sexual acts or simulations of such acts
- Explicit written descriptions of sexual acts
- Nonexplicit written descriptions of sexual acts, except for purposes of teaching students (as may be approved by parents) to avoid and report molestation
- Visual depictions of nudity or implied nudity
After the meeting, Perez said has confidence in district staff to implement the new policy with internal committees and processes, pointing to opt-in procedures KISD already provides.
"It's not the board's responsibility [to implement the policy]," he said. "We pass the policy, obviously we discuss it with them internally so that they're comfortable with it, and then they're the ones that implement it. I have total confidence they can implement this."
