Keller ISD passes policies targeting bathrooms, pronouns for transgender students

Transgender students could have their access to certain bathrooms restricted under a new policy approved by the Keller school board Wednesday.

Trustees also voted 5-0, with one abstention, to establish rules stating that district employees “shall not promote, encourage, or require the use of pronouns that are inconsistent with a student’s or other person’s biological sex.” This means someone could intentionally use the wrong pronouns when referring to a transgender or nonbinary child.

The changes come after a wave of conservative candidates, backed by big money and fueled by culture war angst, were catapulted onto North Texas school boards.

The new policies mirror ones passed last year in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. Both districts were targeted for takeover by a PAC promoting conservative, Christian politics.

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One policy states people are required to use the bathroom and locker room that “corresponds to their gender assigned at birth.” Schools can make accommodations for students, including allowing some to go in a single-user restroom.

The new policies “lay the groundwork for protecting kids and educators. I also think they basically help us get off to a good start for the upcoming school year,” said Charles Randklev, Keller ISD’s board president. The district serves roughly 34,000 students.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas slammed the proposals ahead of the vote, saying the policies are dangerous for transgender students’ mental health and flout federal law.

“When school administrators misgender or deadname transgender students, it not only violates the law but can cause immense and irreparable trauma and harm and spur bullying and harassment from other students,” the group wrote in a letter.

The ACLU previously lodged a complaint with the Keller school board regarding its decision to prohibit across all grade levels library books that include the discussion of gender fluidity.

Roughly 21% of Generation Z Americans born between 1997 and 2003 identify as LGBTQ, according to a February 2022 Gallup poll.

In recent years, Texas lawmakers pushed a slate of anti-LGBTQ legislation. Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law earlier this month a ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.

Amid the surge in such legislation, a 2022 survey from the Trevor Project, which provides crisis support for queer young people, found that 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.

Community members packed the Wednesday night meeting, often cheering after speakers’ two-minute testimony.

Several parents and speakers applauded the school board for their action. They said the bathroom rule is needed to protect the safety and privacy of all students. They argued the new policy won’t prohibit staff from using a student’s preferred pronouns, but rather won’t force them to do so.

They thanked the board for reflecting their values.

Meredith Rentz, a Keller parent of a transgender child, spoke out against the policy proposals.

“I don’t appreciate you taking my parental rights away by deciding how my child is to be addressed,” Rentz said.

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