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Board debates adding “gender identity and expression” to nondiscrimination policy
Summary
Board members at the Crosby‑Ironton Public School District first read revisions to Policy 102 and split over whether to add explicit language on gender identity and expression. Trustees agreed to move the item to a June 15 work session for fuller public and board review.
The Crosby‑Ironton Public School District board opened discussion on proposed revisions to Policy 102, the district’s equal educational opportunity policy, but declined to vote, instead sending the item to the June 15 work session for further consideration.
One board member asked that the newly proposed phrase "gender identity and expression" be struck from the draft because, they argued, the district’s existing language already prohibits discrimination by sex and sexual orientation. "So, when I was reviewing policy 102, I'm going to ask that we strike out the new wording ... only because it already says in here that we will not discriminate against sex and ... sexual orientation," the board member said during the first-reading discussion.
Another board member pushed back, saying the additional language would provide clarity for people who need it: "I would argue that only because gender identity and sexual identity are two different things and the language would provide clarity for that," the member said. Board members noted the draft is based on a Minnesota School Boards Association recommendation.
The board did not take a vote on the policy at the meeting. Chair instructed staff to place Policy 102 on the June 15 work‑session agenda to allow more time for public input and board discussion before any future vote.
Next steps: Policy 102 will return for extended discussion at the June 15 work session; the board may then schedule a subsequent vote.
