Good evening.
My my wife and I have two daughters enrolled in BPS, one at Olson Middle and one at Jefferson High School.
First, I want to begin by acknowledging the district for meeting with Alan Redding and me this past Friday. We met with Andrew Rummel, John Weisser, and Emily Lambrecht in regards to library policy, specifically the book challenge and book donation policies. While both of those policies still need to be expedited, the meeting was a first step in building more trust and collaborating towards a positive outcome.
Mostly, I’m here tonight to speak to the new gender policies, 440 and 540, and to follow up regarding issues that we have previously raised.
To recap, problems with these policies include, but are not limited to:
· Potential injury to female students and athletes by allowing males to participate or compete against them in sex-separate sports and PE classes
· Allowing males who identify as females to compete in female sports creates an unfair competitive environment for the girls participating in that sport
· Assault and privacy concerns when males identifying as females are allowed to use female restrooms and locker rooms
· Compelled speech by forcing students and staff to address an individual by pronouns that are not accurate
· Financial costs of modifying existing restrooms and locker rooms or building new facilities to accommodate gender-confused individuals
It is only a matter of time before one of those problems comes to fruition.
Since there are such significant ramifications to the policies, we have suggested that the district communicate to parents specifically about these policies, either through an open meeting with Q&A or at least an email to parents that outlines the policies in detail. Neither one of those things has happened yet. As we’ve stated previously, the district communicates to parents about a wide variety of issues every week, so at least sending an email specific to these consequential policies is a very reasonable expectation.
In addition, there are further issues regarding these policies that need to be addressed, such as:
· The notes on the gender policy discussion at the recent BPFAC (Bloomington Parent and Family Advisory Council) meeting are not clear about who does or doesn't need to abide by the Biden Title IX changes.
· The court injunctions stemming from the various Title IX lawsuits are very clear that if a school is included in the injunction, every student and staff member at that school is exempt from abiding by the new policies.
· Any part of the policies that are in conflict with Title IX rules are not legal or enforceable.
· Finally, the board previously promised to revise the policies if there were any changes in legal rulings.
Based on those factors, the board should revise those policies now. We had previously advised the board not to proceed with the new policies until the legal proceedings had been resolved. If the board reverses course and decides not to change or suspend the policies until the legal matters are worked out, that will further erode community trust and confidence in the School Board, and the district as a whole.
Thank you.
