School Board President Victor Perez has submitted this letter to the editor in response to answers school board member Rebecca Fox provided to Covering Katy's in this story, Fox vs. Campbell - School Board Candidates Answer Questions.
By Victor Perez, Katy ISD School Board President
I am responding to Rebecca Fox's statements as part of your survey questions to candidates running for Katy ISD School Board.
Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Champagne voted against Board Policy FA, Student Welfare: Parental Authority and Gender Fluidity Matters. A vote of 4-3 adopted the policy on August 28, 2023. As much as they attempt to recharacterize their vote, the fact that they voted against this policy is indisputable.
They voted against a policy which, among other things:
- Safeguards biological females and males in sex-specific spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
- Recognizes a parent's role in guiding and protecting the health and well-being of their children.
- Requires parental consent if a minor student asks to be identified as transgender, changes his or her name, or uses a different pronoun in school that is inconsistent with the student's biological sex.
The policy focuses on parental authority and parents' right to complete information concerning their children, except as the law may limit them. In other words, the district will not keep secrets from parents.
The policy also provides guidance for Katy ISD staff when handling these issues.
The school district's policy was created by the Board Policy Committee, consisting of three out of seven Board members, with the assistance of outside counsel previously retained by the Board. The law firm is reputable, well-known to Katy ISD, and represents other school districts.
The policy contains references to legal cases on which the defense of the policy is based.
The draft policy was distributed to the Board three days before the August Board Work Study meeting and 10 days before the Regular Meeting when the vote was taken. The Board had two meetings to discuss the draft policy —it was not rushed.
Additionally, the policy was previewed with Katy ISD administration to see if there were any objections and determine if there would be any major implementation issues.
In the seven days between the Work Study meeting and the Regular Meeting, Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Champagne never contacted the Board president to provide input, request changes to the policy, or ask to speak to the Board's attorney.
Mrs. Fox's claim that this was a rushed policy with no implementation plan is disingenuous. It is not the Board's role to implement policy. It is our role to set policy. It is the school district's role to implement and follow policy.
The district has implemented the policy for nearly eight months without significant issues.
The district also established a student welfare coordinator at each campus (not a new hire) to handle notifications and meetings with parents related to gender issues. The intent is to relieve teachers of this responsibility and remove the burden of potentially keeping secrets from parents. The policy allows teachers to teach.
In the eight months since the Board implemented the policy, neither Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Champagne, nor any other Board member has requested any modifications to the policy.