Caldwell School District drops consideration for gender identity, sexual orientation policy
After waiting in line for hours, while large snowflakes fell on their heads, nearly 100 people hoped to catch a discussion about the recently proposed Caldwell School District policy that outlined best practices for addressing students’ gender identity and sexual orientation.
But the district announced it would no longer consider the policy that offered guidance on how staff members should address a student’s gender identity. The proposed policy included protocols for restroom use and overnight field trips.
Shalene French, Caldwell School District superintendent, told the school board that the Idaho Legislature will address gender-identity policy in public schools in this year’s session, so the district will not consider its own policy change at this time.
Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, told the board that the Senate Education Committee introduced a bill on Monday that would “deal with the issue of how to handle bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, stuff like that in school districts.”
The bill would create a statewide policy designed to ensure separate restrooms and changing facilities in schools based on biological sex. The bill states that the Legislature finds “real and inherent physical differences between men and women.”
The bill would also allow students to file a lawsuit if they find a member of the opposite sex in a school bathroom.
Crane said the committee voted unanimously to introduce the bill.
“I do not anticipate that (the bill) will have any issues in the Senate,” Crane said. “It will then come to the House of Representatives, where I don’t believe there will be issues ... and then on to the governor’s desk for signature.”
Caldwell policy follows other schools
The Caldwell policy would have added language outlining how a student and parents or guardians could meet with a school principal or building administrator about how to respect the student’s gender identity.
The policy included language to address room assignments on overnight field trips, giving parents the ability to request a room change for any reason. It would also have allowed a student to give the superintendent a copy of a court order or birth certificate to change the student’s name or gender on school records.
Caldwell is not the only school district in Idaho trying to address gender-identity policy reforms, Crane said.
“(We want) to try to get this moving so that there’s clarity and predictability for not only the citizens, but for the school boards that are having to wrestle with these type of issues,” he said.
The first time the school board heard the policy, board members shut down the meeting after Caldwell state Sen. Chris Trakel yelled at them during his testimony.
Though the proposed policy was not on the agenda for board members to consider Monday night, some churches and Republican groups made plans to attend the meeting in droves. Many people who testified were opposed to the policy. Others who stood in line before the meeting were not able to attend as the meeting room filled up.
Stephanie Anderson, a Caldwell resident, opposed the proposed policy, calling it “coercion” to enforce a rule that staff members must call students by their preferred pronouns.
“If a teacher wishes to call a student by the requested name and pronoun, they should not be punished for doing so,” Anderson said. “But a teacher should not be forced to use these pronouns and names other than what is on a student’s legal documentation.”
In preparation for the meeting, the Caldwell Police Department sent a news release that said officers would ensure the meeting would be safe.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 4:00 AM.
