“In recent months, the Texas legislature, Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott have doubled down on restricting LGBTQ rights and have particularly targeted trans youth.
“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said this week that an annual Pride Week celebration in Austin schools is breaking state law, marking the state's latest move to confront LGBTQ rights. Austin's school district said the events will nevertheless continue.”
(Deepa Shivaram. “Texas attorney general says Austin school Pride Week celebration breaks state law.” NPR. March 25, 2022.)
NPR reports that every year, the Austin Independent School District plans a series of events to celebrate LGBTQIA+ students, highlighting "the district's commitment to creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment." Each campus receives an inspiration guide of suggested activities for PRIDE Week. Campuses are encouraged to plan activities that engage, educate and inspire.
The events this year started Monday and culminate Saturday with a "PRIDE OUT!" party. Each day of the week is assigned a theme, including knowing your rights, creative expression and Pride history. Pride and ally stickers and flags are handed out as well. The events line up with National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week.
This year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said in a letter to the Austin Independent School District (AISD) this week that its Pride Week was "breaking state law."
Paxton wrote that by hosting pride week, the district "has, at best undertaken a week-long instructional effort in human sexuality without parental consent. Or, worse (the) district is cynically pushing a week-long indoctrination of (students) that not only fails to obtain parental consent, but subtly cuts parents out of the loop."
In his letter to the Austin school district, Paxton cited reports that students were participating in “community circles,” which he characterized as group discussions that students are supposed to keep confidential, “presumably from parents.”
Confidentiality terms set in the discussion circles were meant to allow students to speak freely without the fear of getting teased by other students, District spokesman Jason Stanford said: “Never in a million years are we telling these kids not to tell things to their parents.”
The Texas AG also wrote that the Austin ISD's curriculum and lesson plans "deal head-on with sexual orientation and gender identity – topics that unmistakably constitute 'human sexuality instruction' governed by state law."
(Maureen Breslin. “Texas AG says Austin school district's Pride Week is 'breaking state laws.'” The Hill. March 24, 2022.)
On March 24, Stephanie Elizalde, the superintendent of the Austin Independent School District, released a statement to the school community, noting that Pride month takes place in June, when schools are on summer break.
"Here at Austin ISD, we celebrate Pride during every school year so our LGBTQIA+ students know how much they are valued and loved. This year, it's important to me personally that they know they are respected and safe, too, and lest anyone have any doubt, that absolutely goes for our trans kids," she said. "We are ALL Austin ISD. We embrace diversity."
The school district says the Pride events will continue as scheduled through the rest of the week.
(Deepa Shivaram. “Texas attorney general says Austin school Pride Week celebration breaks state law.” NPR. March 25, 2022.)
Spokesperson Stanford likewise told The Washington Post that the district would be "doubling down on making sure our kids feel safe and celebrating Pride.”
"This is not a parental rights issue," Stanford explained. "This is a Ken Paxton trying to score political points issue."
(Julian Mark. “It’s Pride Week in Austin schools. The Texas AG says that’s illegal.” The Washington Post. March 24, 2022.)
The back-and-forth comes amid heightened tensions as this year's Pride Week in Austin approaches its final day, according to The Austin American-Statesman. This week, Doss Elementary School teachers received a wave of death threats over the celebrations, causing administrators to move the festivities indoors with police present.
Administrators at Doss Elementary School in Austin had their personal information posted online and also received death threats this week after the school’s Pride Week agenda was shared on Twitter, KUT reported. The students were forced to celebrate indoors as police were posted outside, Stanford said.
“The kids had no idea what was going on, but the teachers were afraid to go to work,” Stanford added. “So the last thing we’re worried about is what Ken Paxton has to say.”
(Julian Mark. “It’s Pride Week in Austin schools. The Texas AG says that’s illegal.” The Washington Post. March 24, 2022.)
Who Is Bullying Whom?
Paxton's letter follows another controversy involving Paxton the week before, when he intentionally misgendered U.S. assistant health secretary Rachel Levine, causing Twitter to flag the tweet as "hateful conduct," though it left the tweet up.
Paxton's Tweet was a response to USA Today naming Levine, a transgender woman, as one of its "Women of the Year."
Paxton last month also issued a memo arguing that gender-affirming care for transgender teens, such as puberty blockers, amounted to child abuse.
Shortly after, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered state agencies to investigate reports of transgender children receiving gender-affirming treatment as child abuse.
In response, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit against Texas on behalf of the mother of a transgender teen who claimed she was investigated by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
A Texas judge in in early March rejected an appeal from Paxton in the case.
(Emily Hernandez and Eleanor Klibanoff. “Attorney General Ken Paxton asks Texas Supreme Court to let investigations into transgender families continue.” The Texas Tribune. March 21, 2022.)
Here is the definition of illegal bullying in the Texas Education Code:
“Bullying means a single significant act or a pattern of acts by one or more students directed at another student that exploits an imbalance of power and involves engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct …”
Ross Ramsey, executive editor and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, says …
“Substitute 'elected officials' for the first instance of 'students,' and it’s evident what’s going on here. There’s more to that definition, which specifies bullying that “has the effect or will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or of damage to the student’s property; is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student …
“Lucky for them, Abbott and Paxton and others like them aren’t students who can be prosecuted under that part of the education laws approved by their government. The gist of that law, however, is crystal clear, and so is the effect of their actions and rhetoric.”
(Ross Ramsey. “Analysis: Texas officials bully transgender kids for political points.” The Texas Tribune. March 11, 2022.)
The kids and the families targeted by the state are terrified and rattled – and lawyered up – as reported by the Tribune’s Sneha Dey and Karen Brooks Harper.
“How is that considered child abuse to accept them and love them?” one mother told them. “How can they overstep their power and try to come and tell me how I should love my child?”
The Texas Association of School Boards published the following:
“Gender-based harassment may also fall under sex-based conduct prohibited by Title IX “if students are harassed either for exhibiting what is perceived as a stereotypical characteristic for their sex, or for failing to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity.” U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Office for Civil Rights, Dear Colleague Letter at 7-8 (Oct. 26, 2010).
“Title IX prohibits gender-based harassment such as physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct based on a student’s gender, a student’s expression of characteristics perceived as stereotypical for the student’s gender, or a student’s failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity. See, e.g., Estate of Carmichael v. Galbraith, 574 F. App’x 286 (5th Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (concluding that parents of 13-year-old male suicide victim stated a claim of sexual harassment under Title IX based on allegations that student was repeatedly bullied by other boys in the locker room, including being stripped and called 'fag,' 'queer,' and 'homo').
“In addition, in 2021, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020), OCR issued a notice of regulatory interpretation indicating that Title IX protects students from harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Office for Civil Rights, Federal Register Notice of Interpretation: Enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with Respect to Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Light of Bostock v. Clayton County (Aug. 20, 2021)
“Furthermore, some forms of sexual violence may be categorized as bullying, sexual harassment, and possibly crimes. The definition of sexual harassment under Title IX regulations includes sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking, as these terms are defined in the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). 34 C.F.R. § 106.30(a)(3)”
(“Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Hazing.” Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. Published online in TASB School Law eSource. 2021.)
“2019 State Snapshot of
the School Climate For LGBTQ Students In Texas” a National School
Climate Survey by GLSEN (formerly the Gay, Lesbian & Straight
Education Network) – the leading national education organization
focused on ensuring safe schools for all students – demonstrate
that Texas schools were not safe for most lesbian,
gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) secondary school students.
In addition, many LGBTQ students in Texas did not have access to important school resources, such as an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, and were not protected by supportive and inclusive school policies.
These “FACTS” were cited:
FACT: The vast majority of LGBTQ students in Texas regularly (sometimes, often, or frequently) heard anti-LGBTQ remarks. Many also regularly heard school staff make homophobic remarks (22%) and negative remarks about someone’s gender expression (40%).
FACT: Most LGBTQ students in Texas experienced anti-LGBTQ victimization at school. They also experienced victimization at school based on disability (40%), race/ethnicity (30%), and religion (26%). Over half never reported the incident to school staff (59%). Only 25% of LGBTQ students who reported incidents said it resulted in effective staff intervention
FACT: Many LGBTQ students in Texas reported discriminatory policies or practices at their school. Over two-thirds (70%) experienced at least one form of anti-LGBTQ discrimination at school during the past year.
• In Texas, over a third of LGBTQ students (36%), and 74% of transgender students, were unable to use the school bathroom aligned with their gender. Additionally, over a quarter of LGBTQ students (28%), and over half of transgender students (58%), were prevented from using their chosen name or pronouns in school.
• Over a third of LGBTQ students in Texas (35%) were disciplined for public displays of affection (PDA) that did not result in similar action for non-LGBTQ students.
• LGBTQ students in
Texas experienced other forms of school discrimination: being
prevented from forming or promoting a GSA (19%), being unable to wear
LGBTQ-supportive apparel (18%), being prevented or discouraged from
playing school sports due to an LGBTQ identity (14%), being unable to
bring a same-gender date to
a school dance (13%), and being
disciplined at school for identifying as LGBTQ (6%).
FACT: Many LGBTQ students in Texas did not have access to in-school resources and supports.
• Only 5% attended a
school with a comprehensive anti-bullying/harassment policy that
included specific protections based on sexual orientation and gender
identity/expression. Only 4% had a policy or official guidelines to
support transgender and nonbinary
students.
• Only 30% reported that their school administration was somewhat or very supportive of LGBTQ students.
• The vast majority of LGBTQ students (96%) could identify at least one school staff member supportive of LGBTQ students, but only 55% could identify 6 or more supportive school staff.
• Less than half (46%) had access to a GSA or similar student club which provides a safe and affirming space and promotes a more welcoming school climate for LGBTQ students.
• Only 13% were taught positive representations of LGBTQ people, history, or events (“inclusive curriculum”). Only 1% reported receiving LGBTQ-inclusive sex education at school.
(“2019 State Snapshot of the School Climate For LGBTQ Students In Texas.” National School Climate Survey by GLSEN. https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/Texas-Snapshot-2019.pdf. 2021.)
The Bottom Line
Using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, a Williams Institute study that estimates the number of LGBT youth (13-17) in the U.S. and by state (September 2020), findings show there are 1,994,000 LGBT youth total in the U.S. – a figure that represents 9.5% of the population of youth ages 13-17 in the United States. In Texas, the survey found 195,000 youth identified as LGBT.
(LGBT Youth Population in the United States.” UCLA School of Law. Williams Institute. September 2020.)
As an ex-public school teacher, I cannot even imagine discriminating against close to 10% of the students in my school. Paxton and Abbott have shoved their political and personal views down the throats of the public educational system in Texas.
Such moves may be popular to the ultra-conservative voting public there; however, they are a part of that state government's intrusion – efforts to control schools and the content of teaching. They seek to limit what teachers may even discuss about current events and issues like diversity, racism, gender, and sexuality. These legislators deny educators teaching critical race theory in Texas – a concept they misconstrue and one that didn't even exist in their schools.
It is evident such restrictive practices deny many, many students from experiencing a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment. Bullying is undoubtedly a problem in Texas schools as it is in all states. By refusing to acknowledge the rights of LGBTQ students, the Texas legislators both perpetuate bullying and deny equality. Claiming parental consent and input are the problems is simply a straw man fallacy – attacking a different subject rather than the topic being discussed – a more extreme version of the counter argument with a purpose of misdirection to make one's position look stronger than it actually is.
Let's end this entry by examining the position of Paxton and Abbott. They want to exert extreme control over the instruction in schools. They also are homophobes who hate and fear LGBTQ orientation. Mention “gay” or “gender” and their minds go automatically to personally objectionable sex acts – which they see as defining any such LGBTQ people.
The two shallow people obviously don't understand gender, and they believe by controlling any instruction about such matters that they can “stomp out” variants of gender identity. Does this remind you of oppression in the past of women, minorities, and controversial opinions?
Paxton once issued a legal opinion arguing that Texas clerks and judges with religious objections could not be forced to officiate those marriages or process the paperwork. Abbott wanted to ban gay couples from getting married to encourage straight couples to have children(??) How does allowing same-sex couples to marry discourage straight couples from getting married and procreating? Abbott argues that it’s enough for a same-sex marriage ban to pass constitutional muster “if one could rationally believe” that it “might be the case” that opposite-sex marriages are better for society than same-sex marriages. For gay couples who want to get married, Abbott hints at a solution: Find an opposite-sex partner.
(Forrest Wilder. “A Closer Look at Greg Abbott’s Arguments For Same-Sex Marriage Ban.” Texas Observer. July 30, 2014.)
What the hell? Maybe someone should check these guys' competency to hold office. Instead of being so worried about what's recognized at schools, these so-called legislators should open their eyes and ears instead of filtering their every view through their one-track archaic brains.
Listen up, you priggish, disoriented, uncomfortable old Casual Gay Haters:
In June 2021, the American Medical Agency (AMA) in a report published by its LGBTQ Advisory Committee recommended that the U.S. government stop including the designation of gender in birth certificates. Presently, people are classified as “male” or “female” in the public portion of their certificates.
AMA has argued that such classification would subject Americans who do not identify with the sex assigned at their birth to “confusion, possible discrimination, harassment, and violence whenever their birth certificate is requested.”
The American Psychological Association says that “gender” refers to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex (APA, 2012).
Gender is a social construct and a social identity. Use the term “gender” when referring to people as social groups. For example, when reporting the genders of participants in the Method section, write something like this: “Approximately 60% of participants identified as cisgender women, 35% as cisgender men, 3% as transgender women, 1% as transgender men, and 1% as nonbinary.”
On the other hand, sex refers to biological sex assignment; use the term “sex” when the biological distinction of sex assignment (e.g., sex assigned at birth) is predominant.
Using “gender” instead of “sex” also avoids ambiguity over whether “sex” means “sexual behavior.”
Mr. Paxton – you argue that Austin Independent School District's PRIDE Week is about “sexuality.” Could it be that you don't know your penis from your chosen class of identity? Or, maybe I'm making a false assumption about your biological sex assignment. In any case, those things are rightfully your business, not mine. I do not wish to distinguish between your self-chosen distinguishing identification. It would only serve to open you up to criticism and misinformation. Know what I mean?
still fighting
Francesca Parenti (June 2017)
how dare you
try
and dispose of
the colors to this rainbow
though, how naive
to forget such ignorance doesn't know
we are free to express
a life that doesn't touch you
how fatal that love in any form can
produce this hate
you should know
you will never take
away the colors of our rainbow
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