Dallas ISD appears to have never certified the LGBTQ program it launched in partnership with a clinic that facilitates transgender hormone usage, according to documents obtained by The Dallas Express.
The Out for Safe Schools program at Dallas ISD trained teachers to be “allies” to LGBTQ students in the district. It operated in partnership with the Resource Center, a clinic on Cedar Springs Road that provides transgender hormones and clearance letters for sex alteration surgeries. The partnership agreement document, which was obtained through an open records request, suggests Dallas ISD never signed off on the project, even as it operated.
“The department said there was no executed agreement,” JoAnna Talley, a public information officer for the district, told The Dallas Express.
Dallas ISD’s communications team did not respond to a request for comment.
The partnership agreement obtained by The Dallas Express was signed by the Resource Center but had no signatures from Dallas ISD officials. The contract states that the agreement was to run from October 2022 to October 2025.
The Resource Center and Dallas ISD removed mentions of the Out for Safe Schools program from their websites this year after a series of reports by The Dallas Express gained national attention. Other documents obtained through an open records request this year showed the district struggled to convince teachers to sign up for the program for years.
“Update. We still only have one person signed up for today,” Mahoganie Gaston, Dallas ISD’s coordinator of support services for LGBTQ youth, emailed Rafael McDonnell, the senior advocacy, policy, and communications manager for the Resource Center, on April 22, 2021.
“Ok. Let’s go ahead and cancel today & ask today’s participant to attend in May. Hopefully, the trustees can push out the training in the areas they represent & attendance will be higher for the final two sessions,” McDonnell responded.
Dallas ISD has not responded to a series of requests for comment concerning whether the program is still in operation.
The Out for Safe Schools program was not the only LGBTQ-oriented program Dallas ISD appeared to walk back from this year after reports by The Dallas Express. The district made its “LGBTQ+ Resources for Dallas ISD & Surrounding Communities” document private after a report showed it guided students on how to transition genders and recommended two specific clinics.