Grapevine-Colleyville ISD’s school board held a heated debate and discussion on April 25 about a proposed policy that would ban the district from teaching about critical race theory (CRT), gender fluidity, and “potentially pornographic material.”
A classical social and emotional learning (CSEL) policy was recommended by board members Casey Ford and Shannon Braun. Both were sworn in within the past two years.
“Shannon and I, we’re listening,” Ford said. “We’re taking input from the community. We’re hearing things about CRT, inappropriate material and books, having age-appropriate material for our children, etc., gender fluidity. We feel this will help protect our students, teachers, and administration in the community and set guidelines while working together within the legal parameters that are out there.”
According to the nine-page policy, teachers cannot be forced to discuss controversial issues, and students cannot get class credit for public policy internships. Additionally, The 1619 Project, a compilation of essays from the New York Times that “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative,” cannot be used in schools.
The proposal also prohibits teaching that “slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to, the authentic founding principles of the United States.”
The policy explicitly bans CRT, a decades-old academic framework that examines the intersection of race, society, and law in the United States. Any programs or offices that promote the theory would be disbanded.
The district would also not be allowed to support or teach about the concept of gender fluidity, which it defines as any belief that it is possible to be any gender – or non-binary – based on how someone feels. It also bans anything that supports transgender hormone usage, sex reassignment surgery, or any procedure that changes a person’s body for reasons related to their gender identity.
District employees who violate the policy could have pay withheld or be terminated.
The proposal does say that with written consent from a parent or guardian, a teacher may comply with a student’s request to use pronouns that may differ from their assumed biological sex.
The policy would also label anything to do with human sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases as “potentially pornographic material.” Trustees would hold a vote on what happens to those materials.
No vote on the CSEL policy was taken during the April 25 meeting. It must first go before a committee of trustees, administrators, and lawyers, who can then make recommendations for changes to the board. Some board trustees expressed concerns about the policy and noted that attorneys have already issued a 48-page legal opinion.
“I have a lot of big questions and problems with this,” Board President Jorge Rodríguez said.
The final policy that the board votes on will likely have undergone considerable changes.
“I expect the policy to be significantly modified before it comes to the Board for consideration at a later date,” Rodríguez told WFAA.
The discussion grew tense as trustees pressed Ford and Braun on how the policy was created. Becky St. John asked Ford who wrote the CSEL Policy, and his response was only “community members.”
Braun told her fellow board members: “Put your input in here. … We’re bringing some ideas, thoughts.”
“I’m just confused by some of the comments I hear, that this thing is trying to fix,” Rodríguez said. “Talking about racism is not CRT. That’s not what CRT is.”
Around 40 community members spoke at the school board meeting. A majority of them spoke about the CSEL policy.