If you were not able to attend the Parent & Community Information night on December 8th, 2022, you can watch a full recording of the evening by clicking the link below
Video – CVSD Parent & Community Info Night on Gender Inclusive Schools
- Approximately 255 parents and community members attended the meeting that lasted a little over an hour. Assistant Superintendent Nootenboom, along with Dr. Parker, Superintendent of CVSD, presented policy 3211 and its implementation at CVSD. All 5 CVSD School board directors were present at the meeting.
- Attendees were able to write their questions, which were answered by Mr. Nootenboom. Dr. Parker has stated those questions not answered during the meeting, will be answered in the near future.
Mr. Nootenboom presented the following:
- Washington state requires that students have a right to be free of discrimination on the basis of gender expression and gender identity.
- There are transgender students attending school in all levels – preschool to 12th grade. CVSD has students entering kindergarten identifying as a gender not assigned at birth.
- In coming alongside a student, it is expected that staff encourage a partnership with parents in each conversation while honoring the rights of the student. Parents can legally access their student’s education record under the Family Education Rights and Privacy act.
- A school employee, such as a principal or a counselor, will privately ask known transgender or gender-expansive students how they would like to be addressed in class, in correspondence to the parents/guardian/caretaker and at conferences with the student’s parents/guardian/caretaker. That information will be included in the electronic student record system along with the student’s legal name in order to inform teachers and staff of the name and pronoun by which to address the student. However, the student’s legal name should be accessible by only necessary staff members – it should not be visible to teachers or other staff who have access to the electronic records system.
- The WIAA encourages participation for all students regardless of their gender identity or expression. Further, most local, state and federal rules and regulations require schools to provide transgender and other gender-diverse student athletes with equal opportunities to participate in athletics. This policy encourages a culture in which student-athletes can compete in a safe and supportive environment, free from discrimination. (WIAA Rule 18.5.0 – 18.5.5)
- Students have a right to equal educational opportunities including the right to use locker rooms and restrooms that are consistent with a student’s gender identity/expression
- Schools cannot require a transgender student to use facilities that are inconsistent with the student’s gender identity/expression or segregate a transgender student into separate facilities such as single-user restroom or changing area.
- Any student – transgender or non-transgender – who requests additional privacy in a restroom or locker room for any reason can, however, request that the school make alternative arrangements.
Children within CVSD can do the following:
- Choose their gender
- Choose an alternative name for their school records
- Choose to use the restroom and locker room of their choice
- Choose to have all of this withheld from parents and guardians
Teachers and staff
- are prevented from disclosing this information to parents
- will privately ask a transgender or gender-expansive student how they would like to be addressed in class
- will ask how they want to be addressed to parents/guardians/caretakers
“Therefore, to ensure the safety and well-being of the student, school employees should not disclose a student’s transgender or gender expansive status to others, including the student’s parents and/or other school personnel, unless the school is (1) legally required to do so or (2) the student has authorized such disclosure.” – from 3211AP
References:
- CVSD Policy 3211 – adopted August 10, 2020
- CVSD Policy 3211AP – adopted August 24, 2020
- CVSD School Board Docs