CYPRESS, Texas — Cy-Fair ISD approved a controversial new policy Thursday night. Some are calling it a win for parental rights and others said it will put members of the district’s LGBTQIA+ community in danger.
In a near unanimous vote by the Cy-Fair ISD trustees district staff is now required to notify families if their students wants to use pronouns different than those assigned to their gender at birth.
It was an emotional discussion that lasted nearly a hour. Trustee Julie Hinaman was the sole vote against the policy. Before the vote was taken she pleaded with her fellow Trustees to table the policy until it was rewritten to clarify points she calls “mistitled” and could, in her opinion, create a slippery slope.
Xzavier Benson is a Junior at Cy-Fair ISD and calls the 5-1 vote in favor of the policy, disappointing.
“I feel they don’t care at all. They obviously don’t care about us at all. 34 people came to speak and 31 of those people came to speak negatively on this policy,” Benson said.
Linda Nuttall said she is favor of the board’s decision. As a former Cy-Fair ISD parent she said families need to be aware of what their students are doing in school.
“I feel strongly in favor of parental rights and we need to have them. We do not give up those rights by sending our children to public school,” Nuttall said.
Now the question becomes where does the district go after the vote. Several groups, including the ACLU had delivered a letter to the district Thursday morning and said the policy will mirror that of Katy ISD, which was passed in 2023. Katy ISD has been the focus of a federal civil rights investigation shortly after enacting their policy. Cy-Fair ISD has previously said they see their policy will hold up legally.
Parents would be required to provide a written request for accommodation allowing a student to use their preferred pronouns and parents would need to meet with Cy-Fair ISD staff to develop a written plan for the student providing reasonable accommodations.
Under this proposal, the district would also be required to toss out any books addressing gender identity or fluidity.
The policy reads:
Definitions:
Parent – For purposes of Chapter 26 of the Education Code, a parent includes a person standing in a parental relation who is listed as a parent or legal guardian in the records of the District. The term does not include a person as to whom the parent-child relationship has been terminated or a person not entitled to possession of or access to a child under a court order. Education Code 26.002
Biological Sex -In accordance with law, a person’s biological sex is identified on the person’s official birth certificate provided the statement was: 1. Entered at or near the time of the person’s birth; or 2. Modified only to the extent necessary to correct any type of scrivener or clerical error in the person’s biological sex. [See Birth Certificate Statement in FM(LEGAL)]; Education Code 33.0834
Gender Fluidity – Any belief, theory, or ideology that: 1. Espouses the view that gender is merely a social construct; and/or 2. Espouses the view that it is possible for a person to be any gender or no gender (i.e., non-binary).
Gender Identity – Any belief, theory, or ideology that: 1. Espouses the view that an individual’s biological sex is different from that person’s biological sex or should be changed to “match” a gender different from that person’s biological sex; and/or 2. Supports hormone therapy or other medical treatments or procedures to temporarily or permanently alter a person’s body so that it “matches” a gender different from that person’s biological sex.
Parental Authority – Parents have the ultimate responsibility and role to guide the beliefs and protect the health and well-being of their children. A parent has the right to full information concerning their student except as limited by law. An attempt by any District employee to encourage or coerce a student to withhold information from their parent is grounds for disciplinary action. Education Code 26.008, 26.0085 E
Except as limited by law, a parent is entitled to access all records of the District concerning the parent’s child, including health and immunization information, teacher and school counselor evaluations, reports of behavioral patterns, and other items. Education Code 26.004 The District may only withhold information from a parent to the extent authorized by law, and only to the extent reasonably necessary. Family Code 32.004
The District shall not diagnose or treat gender dysphoria. Parents have the right to determine when and if to seek professional psychological, psychiatric and/or medical support for their children related to gender dysphoria. Tex. Att’y Gen. Op. No. KP-0401 (2022)
Biological Sex Specific Spaces – District schools shall maintain sex-segregated restrooms, locker rooms and other similar facilities designated for and used only by persons based on the person’s biological sex in accordance with CS (Local).
Except as provided below, an interscholastic athletic team sponsored or authorized by the District may not allow a student to compete in an athletic competition sponsored or authorized by the District that is designated for the biological sex opposite to the student’s biological sex.
An interscholastic athletic team sponsored or authorized by the District may allow a female student to compete in an interscholastic athletic competition that is designated for male students if a corresponding interscholastic athletic competition designated for female students is not offered or available. Education Code 33.096; Tex. Att’y Gen. Op. No. KP-0396 (2021)
Overnight travel accommodations related to team sports and other extracurricular activities requiring hotel rooms will be separated based on biological sex.
Accommodation Plans – In the event a student or a student’s parent specifically requests or directs the use of specific pronouns for the student, District staff shall review and consider the request with the student and parent together and create a written plan for the student providing reasonable accommodations. In the event District staff indicate that a student’s accommodations interfere with a sincerely held belief, the staff member may request a reasonable accommodation through the Human Resources department.
Except to the extent prohibited by law or in cases of suspected abuse, District staff will notify parents if their child requests a reasonable accommodation related to use of the student’s legal name or use of different pronouns from student’s biological sex at school, as part of the interactive dialogue process to create reasonable accommodations for the student.
Gender Identity or Fluidity Materials – No course of instruction, unit of study, materials, instructional materials, or any other curricular or District-sponsored extracurricular offerings shall adopt, support, or promote gender identity or fluidity as part of any District instruction. This prohibition also includes any library or instructional materials that a teacher or administrator might seek to provide to any student, including any situation in which a teacher or administrator would allow a student to “borrow” such library or instructional materials from the District staff member’s private collection. Any library or instructional materials accessible in any way to students must be in compliance with EFA (Local) and EFB (Local).
No District staff will instruct, refer, or otherwise guide any student to any Internet website, chat room, or other online forum for publication for instruction or other information regarding gender identity or fluidity, unless such website, chat room, or other online forum has been approved for use in the District’s instructional materials. [See EFA]
Information Collection Surveys -Parental Consent for Surveys 1. District staff will not survey students without affirmative parental consent. 2. Upon request, any survey proposed for student completion must be provided to a student’s parent or guardian for review prior to administration to a student. 3. A completed survey by a student must be made available to the student’s parent or guardian upon request.
Photojournalist Renee Lavine contributed to this report.