Grapevine-Colleyville passes limits on CRT, books and bathrooms

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD’s board narrowly passed a broad set of policies that would limit how teachers talk about race, gender and sexuality, impact which bathrooms transgender students can use and give trustees a greater say over what books are available in schools.

“These policies are a reflection of Texas law and community values,” GCISD board President Casey Ford said.

The policies passed in a 4-3 vote around midnight Monday. Ford said the changes are a product of “input from several groups,” including the board, district lawyers, school administrators, community members and legislators.

Trustee Becky St. John criticized the policies, saying “it’s an affront to our teachers ... that is going to overburden” them and “harm students in the classroom.”

“I am so sorry for the students in our district whose education is going to be stunted,” St. John said.

The trustees — several of whom were recently elected on conservative platforms — heard from nearly 200 people on the proposals that have attracted attention from parents, politicians and legal authorities.

The ACLU of Texas sounded the alarm Monday afternoon, saying GCISD’s policy proposals go far beyond Texas law, threaten First Amendment rights and would have a chilling effect on the classroom.

A former GCISD student, who identifies as part of the LGBT community, said the proposed policies put students in danger.

“By implementing these policies you are preventing our kids, the kids who were trusted into your care, from getting the help and support that they need,” the teenager said. “You will alienate them even more from getting help. ... Help my friends. Don’t tell them they should be erased.”

Among the changes the policies would enact: The trustees would have a large role in book selection; the district would not permit equity audits; and teachers wouldn’t be required to address students by pronouns inconsistent with their biological sex. It also sets out rules for bathrooms.

“To the extent permitted by law, each multiple-occupancy bathroom or changing facility owned or operated by the District shall be designated for and used only by persons based on the person’s biological sex,” it states. “This policy does not prohibit the District from providing reasonable accommodations upon request.”

It also states that district staff should not talk about sexual orientation or gender identity until after a child has finished fifth grade.

Some parents told trustees that policy changes would marginalize children of color and block students from learning the “full facts” of history. Others noted that the policies will be harmful and create a hostile environment throughout the district.

A fourth-grade student shared that he likes reading books because they help him learn new things and have a positive mindset.

“I like to bring my books to the classroom,” he said. “My mom said the trustees are changing some rules to make it hard for my teachers to keep books at school. I think this is a bad idea because kids want to read books.”

Several people on Monday night celebrated the proposed policies, with many saying certain topics should only be addressed at home.

“Children should be able to go to school without having their purity tarnished by propaganda being taught under the guise of curriculum,” one speaker said.

Elements of the policies echo a previous proposal in April, which was introduced just before two new conservative trustees won seats on the GCISD board. They were backed by the Patriot Mobile Action PAC, which is tied to a Texas-based Christian cellphone company.

The group raised more than half a million dollars to elect conservative candidates in four North Texas school board races.

The trustees supporting the updated policies said changes were needed because of an increase in questionable material and to push out the “overt nefarious infiltration of social and cultural propaganda.”

The moves come as some Republican leaders across the state and country escalate anti-LGBT rhetoric — and specifically crack down on transgender issues — as well as try to limit what is taught about race and racism in schools. Much of the fight has centered around what types of books are allowed in libraries and on classroom shelves.

One of the policy proposals includes codifying that the district shall not use any resources or funds to support or promote critical race theory. Critical race theory is a decades-old academic framework that probes the way policies and laws uphold systemic racism.

More recently, Republican pundits have conflated schools’ diversity and equity work — such as anti-racism training and multicultural curricula — with the theory, turning it into something of a catchall.

The ACLU wrote in a briefing that the district’s policy proposal “bars discussion of ideas ‘connected to’ ‘critical race theory’ and ‘systemic discrimination ideologies,’ but neither of those terms is defined. This broad and vague bar will chill student speech.”

The Legislature passed two bills banning CRT in schools, and traces of the laws are evident in the new policy, including saying that teachers can’t discuss the New York Times’ 1619 Project.

Advocates warn GCISD’s proposals go further than even the new restrictive laws.

The policy also includes stringent guidelines around book challenges, including that any library materials that go through the formal process and are removed “shall not be eligible for consideration to be added again for at least ten years.” North Texas districts have been flooded with challenges on certain titles, many of which deal with LGBT characters and storylines.

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