Daisy Espinoza / Houston Public Media
In a second and final vote on the matter, Cy-Fair ISD trustees on Monday night approved a gender identity policy that closely mirrors a controversial Katy ISD measure that’s the subject of an ongoing Title IX investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.
The Cy-Fair school board members who disregarded some students’ opposition on Monday night said, in part, that failing to approve the policy could have resulted in the Houston-area district losing federal funding.
More than a dozen students and community members urged trustees to vote against the policy that will require families to be notified if their child uses a pronoun at school that differs from their biological sex.
“Every child made homeless because of this policy is on you,” Christian Kimbell, a former student, told trustees during a contentious board meeting. “Every child that faces abuse at home or at school because of this policy is on you. Every child that attempts suicide as a result of this policy is on you.”
Trustee Todd LeCompte, who voted in favor of the policy, claimed it was imperative to implement the measure in order to prevent the loss of federal funding. He did expand on the comment during Monday’s meeting.
“Taking no action could affect federal programs such as feeding our children,” he said. “It would be a disgrace if some of our children went hungry if this policy fails to pass.”
LeCompte did not answer any questions posed by Houston Public Media in a series of messages and emails on Tuesday. Instead, he responded by providing a link to a sweeping executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month that is titled, “Ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.“
The president’s recent order threatens to slash essential federal funding to school districts with “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”
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District attorney Marney Collins Sims, however, said during Monday’s meeting that the new policy simply codifies the district’s existing practices of involving parents in discussions after a student requests a certain accommodation.
“That’s been the guidance from our state for several years now so that’s been our practice,” Sims said.
Under Cy-Fair ISD’s policy, parents would be required to submit a written request for an accommodation allowing their child to use preferred pronouns at their school. But staff members could request their own accommodation that would exempt them from calling that student by their preferred pronouns if it interferes with their own “sincerely held belief,” according to district documents.
Cy-Fair ISD trustees in January said that consideration for the policy comes after concerns from parents and confusion about the district’s existing procedures regarding students with gender preferences. The district’s policy committee took up discussions on the measure after board vice president Natalie Blasingame provided documents to the committee from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Austin.
The policy closely mirrors Katy ISD’s “gender fluidity” guidance requiring students to use restrooms and locker room facilities that correspond with their gender at birth. That policy drew complaints and an ongoing federal investigation led by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Cy-Fair ISD trustee Julie Hinaman’s request to postpone the policy’s final vote until the outcome of the investigation into Katy ISD’s gender guidance was denied.
Hinaman was the only dissenting vote on Monday, echoing concerns expressed by students.
Elany Peña, a student in the district, said that some students go home to families who are not accepting of their gender preferences.
“By exposing the identity of a student who is not comfortable exposing it to their families yet, you have no idea how much danger you are putting them in,” Peña said. “You are risking a student’s mental and physical health as well as the ability to express themselves and learn to become who they truly are.”