Muammar Al Khadafi

The 2011-2012 school year starts for HISD students today.  For the first time students in the largest school district in Texas and seventh largest in the nation will do so with a Student Code of Conduct policy that includes anti bullying provisions with gender identity and expression language



The gender identity and expression language is also included in the anti discrimination portions of HISD's employment policy as well. 



It passed on a unanimous 8-0 vote and we do need to take a moment to thank all the HISD Board of trustee members who voted for the policies. 



The members who are up for reelection, HISD  board president Paula Harris (District IV), Carol Mims Galloway (District II), Manuel Rodriguez (District III), and Juliet Stipeche (District VIII) we can thank not only with e-mails, but with our ballots November 8.



My rep Paula Harris has drawn an opponent while the other three members whose terms are up in this cycle haven't as of yet.   The  deadline to file challenges against them is September 7.      





We also need to take a moment to thank Chris Busby and Jenifer Rene Pool whose multiyear work and patient engagement with the Board of Trustees made it happen.  



To our TBLG kids matriculating in HISD we have this to say to you.  We love y'all, study hard, have a wonderful school year, know we have your backs if something needs addressing, and we hope and pray the new policies that are in place make a huge difference in making your school year much better than it was previously.

We hope the same applies to TBLG people who work for the district as well.

Nope, that wasn't the score of the latest Houston Astros loss.    It was the result of the HISD board of trustees vote on the second reading of the measure Thursday night that adds gender identity and expression to the district's employment policy.



HISD is now the second school district in Texas after Fort Worth ISD and the largest in the state to have an employment policy that covers transpeople.



Dallas ISD will have their final vote on August 25, so get busy Dallas peeps being agents for your own liberation. 



Thanks to Chris Busby and Jenifer Rene Pool who have been working on this for several years, and megathanks to the eight school board members who voted for this measure.  

Would have been a 9-0 sweep had one member who was in favor of the policy change not had pressing out of town business.   That member let us know via e-mail that they would have voted yes

Thanks for having our backs Thursday night.   We as a community won't forget it and damned sure have yours the next time you are running for reelection.

On opposite ends of Interstate 45 there will be civil rights activity today that we hope will result in good news for the trans communities of Houston and Dallas.  



The Dallas Independent School District will have a meeting in a few hours to discuss policy changes that would protect students, staff and teachers from discrimination based on gender identity and expression.   



This meeting is the first reading phase for the proposed policy changes, but if approved by the DISD Board of Trustees the policies would cover the following areas:



• Gender identity and gender expression nondiscrimination protections for students.

• Gender identity and gender expression nondiscrimination protections for staff and teachers.

• Codification of these protections in both the employee standards
of conduct (teachers cannot harass students for being LGBT) and the
student code of conduct.

• An anti-bullying policy that covers staff and teachers.



Back in November DISD became the first district in the state to adopt an anti-bullying policy to protect TBLG students, but the policy failed to address potential harassment by teachers.



Fort Worth ISD added trans discrimination employment protections in January and in June expanded the FWISD anti-bullying policy to cover gender identity and expression. 



On the southern end of I-45 the Houston Independent School District's Board of Trustees will meet starting at 5 PM CDT to conduct the second reading and final vote for the inclusion of gender identity
and sexual orientation in the district's employment policy 



It passed on a 7-0 first reading vote at their June 23 meeting along with a 7-0 vote on HISD Code of Student Conduct changes for the 2011-2012 school year that added gender identity and expression language.



We in the Houston trans community are hopeful of a similar result at tonight's meeting at the Hattie Mae White Building and hope our friends in Dallas have good news to report as well.