Standing up for the values and convictions of Katy families, Katy ISD voted 4-3 to no longer allow boys to use the bathroom and locker room of their choice. Rather, they must use the “sex-specific spaces” that correspond to the biological sexes they were assigned at birth.

The measure was approved by Katy ISD Board President Victor Perez and newly elected members Morgan Calhoun, Mary Ellen Cuzela and Amy Thieme. All four board members campaigned on parental rights.

Continuing to disappoint, Lance Redmon, Rebecca Fox and Dawn Champagne voted against the policy, supporting the misleading claims made by the radical LGBTQ agenda.

Katy Christian Magazine was able to obtain the exclusive statement Katy ISD Board President Victor Perez read at the school board meeting last night.

Comments about gender policy:

 “I felt it appropriate to pull this policy out of Consent Agenda due to all the confusion about this policy and also the mischaracterization of it.

I just want to clarify some things:

The policy does not target anyone. The policy does not deal with anyone’s sexual orientation. The policy does not require District staff to ask about anyone’s sexual orientation or gender identify. In fact, that is something that a school should absolutely not be asking about, whether in the classroom, or in a counseling session, or in a survey. We are here to educate.

Following up on that train of thought, per the policy, District staff should not ask kids what their Preferred Pronoun is, or discuss preferred pronouns with students. Again, we’re here to educate. 

The policy also does not prohibit the use of Preferred Pronouns, which is different from biological sex, as long as the parent gives their approval. According to the policy, District staff shall notify parents in three specific circumstances: if a child takes the step of asking that they be identified as transgender, changes their name or uses a different pronoun in school. Such notification to parents is not required if it’s prohibited by law or in cases of suspected abuse. The District staff notifying parents could be counselors or other administrative staff, not just teachers. District leadership would determine the appropriate process when this policy is rolled out and implemented.

The policy does not pry into private, confidential conversations with District staff. 

The policy also does not force District staff nor students to use pronouns in any manner that would violate their First Amendment right. 

It seems the biggest area of disagreement about this policy is the role of parents. The policy recognizes the primacy of parents in making decisions about the health and welfare of their children. We should not err on the side of concealing information from parents. Parents and teachers work together in a partnership concerning academic and learning issues a child may have, similarly coaches and parents communicate with each other about the progress of students involved in sports or fine arts. It is only fitting that the district staff and parents collaborate on any mental issues a child may have.

We cannot assume parents are going to abuse their kids and therefore keep secrets from them.

We’ve heard a lot of talking points about suicide. The teen suicide rate is a tragedy in our country and especially with kids that may have deep depression, anxiety and some type of psychological stress. These issues may manifest themselves in gender dysphoria, gender confusion. Withholding such information from parents places a big burden of responsibility on teachers, counselors and other staff, something that may weigh heavily on them. They should not have to bear this burden. Parents need to be notified to make sure their children get the appropriate help. This is the role of the parent. The policy provides guidelines for District staff.

We raise our children to never keep secrets. Let’s not keep secrets from parents.

We should encourage a culture of collaboration between parents and staff and make sure parents have full knowledge of what is going on with their child.”

Matt Morgan, who is running as a Republican to unseat unpopular and controversial Republican incumbent Jacey Jetton in Texas HD 26 in the primaries, which encompasses a large portion of Katy ISD students, said, “School’s should not be in the business of keeping secrets from parents. Government should be open and transparent to all stakeholders.”

To read the new Katy ISD policy, click here