Carroll ISD’s board of trustees voted on a number of policy changes on Monday pertaining to bathroom usage, pronouns, and bullying.
The changes include requiring most students and staff to use bathrooms that correspond to their birth sex and enshrining the right of district employees and students not to address individuals by their chosen pronouns in policy language.
Additionally, trustees voted to make changes to the district’s student handbook, removing phrases like “sexual orientation,” “gender,” and “gender-based harassment” from sections dealing with bullying and discrimination.
Some parents and community members voiced their opposition to the changes at the meeting, claiming the new policies could have a detrimental effect on LGBTQ students.
“I’m concerned that the handbook combined with two other policies you are considering tonight will create a hostile environment for our LGBTQ students and will lead to an atmosphere where even well-meaning teachers and administrators are unable to support these marginalized students,” said Pam Francis.
Colleen Golestan told trustees, “You’ll always have a number of these students in your care. … If you adopt policies that make them ashamed or afraid, how can they flourish?”
Still, others in attendance expressed support for the board’s measures.
“There are those in our district who would have people believe that certain children lack protection in our schools because they believe that these children belong to a protected class. I see no evidence in the 34 pages of the proposed student code of conduct or the 104 pages of the proposed student handbook to support this claim,” said Angie Dawkins.
She later added, “I feel blessed to live in this community and have the opportunity for my son to benefit from the top-notch education he’s receiving in Carroll ISD.”
The trustees ended up voting in favor of all three proposals.
In a statement to The Dallas Express relayed by Board President Cameron Bryan, Carroll ISD said:
“[Carroll ISD] prioritizes the safety and well-being of our students with award-winning training protocols and procedures. The newly-approved Student Handbook details our non-discrimination policy, which ensures that no student may be discriminated against ‘on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age.’”
The district further noted that its new bathroom policy “does not prohibit the District from providing reasonable accommodations upon request.” Additionally, it suggested that the new pronoun policy is written in a manner that protects students and employees from compelled speech “that would violate the speaker’s constitutionally protected rights.”
Despite the controversy prompted by Carroll ISD’s policy changes over the last couple of years, it has historically been one of Texas’ top-performing public school systems, earning an on-time graduation rate of 99.9% for its graduating Class of 2022 and an “A” accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency.
Carroll ISD helped boost the overall performance of Tarrant County’s school district ranking, bringing it above Dallas County’s, which was weighed down by Dallas ISD’s low student achievement scores, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
According to Dallas ISD’s latest accountability report, almost 20% of the district’s graduating Class of 2022 failed to graduate in four years, and only about 41% of students performed at grade level on their STAAR exams during the 2021-2022 school year.