FWISD Talks Transgender Rules As State Works On Policy
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Texas leaders on Tuesday are set to take the next step in clarifying the state's bathroom policy. Meanwhile, the Fort Worth Independent School District will begin holding a series of community forums to discuss the the bathroom battle.
The school district has previously stated its own transgender guidelines, saying that students are free to use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify. Parents and protesters on both sides of the issue are set to gather at Dunbar High School in Fort Worth at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night to sound off.
Additional community forums will be held over the next two weeks. According to the school district, the purpose of the forums is to "seek input from parents and other community members on sensitive issues surrounding the education and protection of all students in the Fort Worth ISD."
- June 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Poly High School
- June 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Paschal High School
- June 6 at 7:00 p.m. at Arlington Heights High School
- June 7 at 7:00 p.m. at North Side High School
- June 9 at 7:00 p.m. at South Hills High School
But before those meetings take place, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a press conference in Austin on Tuesday morning, saying that he was thrust into this debate when Fort Worth ISD superintendent Kent Scribner announced his school district's new policy, one that Patrick said was "enacted illegally."
Patrick has called for Scribner to step down as Fort Worth ISD's leader.
The Obama administration has also said that schools must allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms which match their gender identity, but Patrick and other state officials have been opposed to that decision. Patrick said that he was sending a letter to all Texas superintendents encouraging them to ignore the President's guidelines.
"How do you preserve a student's privacy if they change their name to a different sex? This doesn't make sense," Patrick said.
Shortly after Patrick is done speaking, a group of transgender community supporters will hold a press conference of their own in Austin. They intend to introduce state leaders to the parents of some transgender children, putting faces to a controversial debate.