The Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) is currently contemplating a gender identity policy that mirrors those adopted by Katy and Cy-Fair ISDs, with a board meeting held on Monday night to discuss the potential changes. David Hamilton, a board member of Fort Bend Independent School District, conveyed the community's stand on equality and discrimination issues. "Our community generally is very supportive of equal rights for all people... and our community is strongly opposed to any kind of discrimination for any reason whatsoever. But once it becomes the privacy and safety rights of people in bathrooms, that's a place where a lot of people draw the line," Hamilton stated during the meeting, according to ABC13's news partners at the Houston Chronicle. A vote on the new policy could be cast as soon as next week, on April 14.
The proposed policy would demand schools to notify parents if their child requests to use a different name or pronoun than what is legally recognized. According to a Houston Chronicle report, this procedure has already been mandated in other Texas districts, including the 96,000-student Katy ISD in 2023, and more recently in Cy-Fair ISD. The debate to adopt this policy follows the district's evaluation of K-5 learning materials that include biblical references.
During the discussion, board president Kristin Tassin affirmed the intention of the policy by saying, "I heard someone earlier today say, 'This is bullying, harassment,' and that's ridiculous. That's just ridiculous. There are children in our classrooms and in our schools currently who are transgender, and they live their lives with their parents' knowledge and consent, and that's all we're saying. As long as the parent knowledge and consent, you're good, that's fine." However, trustee Angie Hanan expressed concerns over this policy, questioning what constitutes as "promoting" gender fluidity, and highlighted that fears about transgender students in bathrooms are misleading. "There's all kinds of things going on in the bathroom that have nothing to do with trans kids. And so I think in that sense, we have bigger fish to fry," Hanan told the Houston Chronicle.
The policy has caused controversy in Katy ISD, where student advocacy groups report that it has negatively affected transgender students, making some hide their identities. Since the policy was implemented, Katy ISD informed 43 parents about their children's requests to change pronouns, potentially revealing students' transgender identities to families who may not have known. This has led to a federal investigation by the Office of Civil Rights, following a complaint from a student group. In Cy-Fair ISD, the policy was quickly put in place out of fear of losing federal funding, due to a Trump Executive Order against promoting gender ideology in schools. The policy passed with a 6-1 vote, despite opposition from trustee Todd LeCompte, who did not explain the urgency during the open session, as reported by Houston Chronicle.
Community voices are already reacting to the potential policy at Fort Bend Independent School District. At the board meeting, two parents, Angie Wierzbecki and Christina Saunders, voiced their opposition, with Wierzbecki running for Hamilton's board seat, arguing that such a policy may endanger the mental health of transgender students, as per Houston Chronicle. The Fort Bend Independent School District will be making their decision on the policy in the upcoming vote with significant community and national attention focused on the outcome.
