After Stafford County Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner’s initial transgender student proposal in December 2018, the policy drew highly polarized and split opinions.
A total of 51% of emails sent to Board members regarding this issue advocated against the Gender Identity and Expression Policy while 41% of resident emails argued for the passage of such policy according to documents gathered by the Potomac Local in a Freedom of Information Act Order.
The Stafford County School Board maintained that the earliest it would vote on the transgender policy would be in January since it didn’t want the discussion to get lost over Christmas break.
Kizner’s proposal came after a transgender student was barred from using either the boys or girls locker room during a school shooter safety drill in October of that year. It would have allowed students to use the bathroom of their choice. It also allowed transgender students to room with those of the same gender identity on overnight trips.
The original Gender Identity and Expression policy proposed by Kizner is no longer being reviewed by the board. Instead, the Board is now considering revisions to the existing Non-Discrimination Policy.
The proposed changes include adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” under the list of non-discrimination protections for both students and staff.
The Non-Discrimination Policy has led to more confusion, but general support, as residents contacted their leaders seeking clarification. 74% of emails to Board members expressed support for the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity clauses to the policy according to records obtained by the Potomac Local in a Freedom of Information Act Order.
In the springtime, elementary school redistricting halted any progress on the non-discrimination policy. With the Board’s attention focused on an extensive nine-month redistricting process affecting all of the county’s elementary schools, the non-discrimination policy got put on a back burner.
The redistricting process finished up in March, so on March 26 Decatur requested that the policy be readdressed; however, another Board commitment became a priority. This time, it was the school division’s budgeting process.
Tomorrow, in the final post of our three-part series, we reveal school board and administration emails obtained by Potomac Local through a Freedom of Information Act order that show Kizner wanted action on the policy, and soon.
Here’s the first post in this three-part series.
