The school board of the New Hope-Solebury School District next week will begin discussing a policy to protect transgender students.
During a policy meeting Dec. 13, the school board announced it will consider a proposal to formally mandate equal access for trans and gender-nonconforming students. It is set for its first official reading Dec. 19. If the policy moves forward, it will continue to a second reading in January.
The policy, entitled “Gender Expansive and Transgender Students,” would “provide an equal opportunity for all students to achieve their maximum potential through the programs offered in the schools regardless of, among other factors, gender, gender identity and gender expression.” It will also “foster an educational environment that is safe and free from discrimination based on gender identity and expression.”
Within the guidelines are definitions of gender identity, gender expansive, gender expression and transgender. Additionally, it outlines details related to privacy regarding transgender status and gender-nonconforming representation; changing school records; names and pronouns; restroom and locker-room accessibility; sports and physical-education classes; dress codes; school activities involving separation by gender and overnight field trips; discrimination and harassment; and professional-development trainings for staff members about transgender issues.
“We have the transgender policy, which addresses as many situations as we can contemplate for the student,” said School Board President Neale Dougherty. “This just puts formal language into the policy manual.”
Dougherty said he expected the policy to move forward to the first reading and said there were no criticisms of it during the meeting. If there is pushback, Dougherty said the board will listen to feedback.
“I’m not even going to speculate what the pushback would be but our role as a board when those moments come is to listen,” he said. “Once we hear [pushback], we will contemplate it, listen and deliberate among board members.”
Superintendent Dr. Steven M. Yanni also said he does not anticipate the policy will face opposition. Yanni said he hopes the policy will help future transgender students looking to enroll at New Hope-Solebury schools.
“We are starting to have students enroll who are transgender or having transgender students looking to possibly enroll in our school district,” Yanni said. “To make sure that their rights are protected and that it’s formalized, we felt the need to move forward with the policy.”
Yanni mentioned there are policies in place to protect students with special needs, disabilities and those who are learning English. He said this policy will ensure even more students are protected.
“My hope is that if the policy gets approved, it will show students that not only do we say that we value and respect them but there’s actually policy around it,” Yanni said. “We really respect and value all kids. It doesn’t matter if you’re transgender or if you’re not or if you’re an English speaker or not. Everybody matters. I think it’s a great a way to formalize our practices to show the community that we accept everyone.”
The issue was also raised at a school-board meeting earlier this month in which some community members called for board member Douglas McDonough to step down from his post. McDonough has come under fire for a Facebook post criticizing those who wear a safety pin to convey solidarity with those who could be marginalized by supporters of Donald Trump.
McDonough wrote that the pins “might come in handy as a suture for any lacerations you get when you are macro-aggressively punched in the face for being such a slactivist jackass.”
As of presstime, McDonough remained a member of the school board.