Fort Worth ISD Sends Letter To Paxton On Transgender Student Guidelines
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FORT WORTH (KRLD-AM) -- The Fort Worth ISD sent Attorney General Ken Paxton a letter addressing the district's transgender student guidelines.
The letter was written by General counsel Valerie Carrillo.
In it, she addressed the two questions that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick asked Paxton for his legal opinion on.
The first question: "Does Superintendent (Kent) Scribner's policy (sic) violate Chapter 26 of the Education Code, or any other law, in his effort to keep student information from parents?"
Carrillo writes that the answer to that question is no, saying that the guidelines acknowledge that there are times when state law precludes the sharing of private information.
The second question: "Did Superintendent Scribner have the authority to unilaterally adopt the policy (sic) without adoption by the school board and without public comment?"
Carrillo says the answer to that question is yes, saying that state law specifically gives superintendents the power to issue regulations to carry out school board policies.
The guidelines were issued to clarify a policy that the school board enacted in 2011 that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, among other factors.
In April, Scribner issued a series of transgender student guidelines.
Among other things, they say that transgender students can either use a single stall bathroom or a multi-stall bathroom that coincides with their gender identity, as long as no one else is present.
The guidelines have led to a firestorm of controversy, with Lieutenant Governor Patrick calling for Scribner's resignation.
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