(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — School District 49’s Board of Education conducted its monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 26, and while on the agenda, it did not reach a consensus on a vote for a resolution involving only acknowledging two sexes.
The resolution, ‘Protecting Safety and Privacy for Boys and Girls in All School Settings,’ says it prioritizes student safety “as embodied in the purposes and language of Title IX” and also complies with President Donald Trump’s executive order, declaring that “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”
During the meeting, President Lori Thompson noted the board had received several emails, both for and against the resolution.
“I value privacy, and I want to see every one of our students heard and kept safe,” Thompson said. “Kids, no matter what their opinion is, I want them to be heard and to be safe.”
The resolution looks to update any procedures, guidelines or agreements to be consistent with the knowledge of two sexes: male and female. It also seeks to ensure restrooms and locker rooms are separate for both sexes and to make sure males are not competing as females in sporting events.
According to Treasurer Mike Heil, the resolution goes against state law. Heil also commented that he suspects no transgender children are in a locker room and “zero” transgender children are involved in sports.
When asked by a student representative, Thompson said the resolution was pre-emptive because they didn’t know what would happen with federal funding and the district has not received any direction.
“We’re kind of left in the wind right now,” Thompson said. “It’s really difficult to know the way forward because there will be a clear conflict between federal executive orders, state laws, what could come down with strings for funding, and that’s part of the joy of what the school board gets to navigate… the purpose is to be pre-emptive because we don’t have a lot of leeway when it comes to our financial situation at District 49 and we want to respect families of different beliefs systems. Most importantly, we want to respect the privacy of our students and how they feel about it as well.”
According to Thompson, the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHASA) has not taken a position, and she has been in discussions to start a petition for the organization to take a stand on the matter.
The board decided to have an executive session next week before the next board meeting on April 10. The board plans to vote on the resolution next month.
