Carroll Independent School District’s (CISD) Board of Trustees voted 5-1 on Monday to revise its Student Handbook and Code of Conduct.
The majority of the school board zeroed in on the handbook’s “statement of nondiscrimination,” which currently reads:
“In its efforts to promote nondiscrimination, Carroll ISD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age in providing education services, activities, and programs, including vocational programs, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.”
Adopting the recommendation by a Policy Review Committee consisting of district parents and staff, the board moved to strike the words “gender,” “sexual orientation,” “race,” and “religion” from the nondiscrimination statement, according to WFAA.
The changes are set to go into effect on January 4, 2023.
In a statement provided to CBS News, CISD said, “The District’s Policy Review Committee aligned the Code of Conduct with the [Office of Civil Rights] nondiscrimination statement accordingly. The District’s nondiscrimination statement prohibits discrimination against students based on their sex, which encompasses Carroll ISD’s LGBTQ+ students.”
Texas Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights nondiscrimination statement reads, “This institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex and in some cases religion or political beliefs.”
Public speakers at Monday’s CISD board meeting appeared divided on the move.
Southlake resident Bill Zimmerman supported the changes, stating, “I am concerned about a code of conduct that divides outcome based on race, gender, or other identities as opposed to our tradition of Lady Justice being blind.”
District parent Elisha Rurka opposed the revisions, claiming, “The intention and the message you’re sending those to the students is, ‘We don’t see you. We don’t want to see you. And you’re not included here.'”
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, CISD has come under legal scrutiny in recent years and is currently facing five investigations by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights over its accommodations for students with special needs.
The district has stated that it is fully cooperating with federal investigators.
Despite recent controversies swirling around CISD, it has been one of Texas’ top-performing school districts for years, boasting an on-time graduation rate of 99.9% for its graduating class of 2022 and earning an “A” accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
CISD buoyed the overall performance of Tarrant County’s school district ranking, bringing it above Dallas County’s, which was dragged down by Dallas Independent School District’s (DISD) dismal student achievement scores, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
According to its latest TEA accountability report, nearly 20% of DISD’s graduating class of 2022 did not graduate in four years, and only about 41% of its students performed at grade level on last year’s STAAR exam.
