MVWSD nondiscr policy summary

The Mountain View Whisman School District on Feb 13, 2024 adopted a Nondiscrimination Policy.

https://www.mvwsd.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=418858&pageId=536177

which establishes the following as official District policy:

1. The District recognizes verbal or written gender orientation as equivalent to or over-ruling sex. If a staff or student says he or she claims a gender identity not matching his or her sex, the gender identity is to be recognized above the person’s sex for discrimination purposes.
2. A gender disoriented student is given the right to keep secret from anyone he or she chooses, the fact of his or her disorientation, dress at school, use of a name not matching his or her sex, alternative (grammatically incorrect) pronouns, and “unofficial” records using such names and pronouns. If the student asks that his or her parents be excluded from the information the District orders staff not to tell parents.
3. Neither students nor staff are permitted to divulge the gender disoriented status of any student to anyone without the permission of the disoriented student.
4. The District requires that students and staff use only the alternative names and pronouns chosen by gender disoriented students. Failure to do so is defined as “harassment”.
5. Students who self-identify as genders not matching their sexes have access to all sex-segregated activities including sports and locker rooms and bathrooms.

Items 1-5 follow a guidance letter sent to districts by CA Attorney General Rob Bonta.  He has in May of 2024 admitted in court that he has no legal authority to enforce these directives.

The Nondiscrimination Policy document is lengthy.  I include the section concerning LGBTQ+ persons on the four following pages.

Raymond R. White     rwhite4mvwsd@gmail.com

The policies on the other side of this page were adopted by a 5 to 0 vote by the MVWSD board of trustees.

A few of the paragraphs supporting summary of LGBT privileges.

From the MVWSD Nondiscrimination policy, adopted Feb. 13, 2024

https://www.mvwsd.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=418858&pageId=536177

[Definitions] Gender expression means a student’s gender-related appearance and behavior, whether stereotypically associated with the student’s assigned sex at birth.  (Education Code 210.7)

Gender transition refers to the process in which a student changes from living and identifying as the sex assigned to the student at birth to living and identifying as the sex that corresponds to the student’s gender identity.

Gender-nonconforming student means a student whose gender expression differs from stereotypical expectations.

… the types of conduct which are prohibited in the district and which may constitute gender-based harassment include, but are not limited to:

Refusing to address a student by a name and the pronouns consistent with the student’s gender identity…

Blocking a student’s entry to the restroom that corresponds to the student’s gender identity

Taunting a student because the student participates in an athletic activity more typically favored by a student of the other sex

Revealing a student’s gender identity to individuals who do not have a legitimate need for the information, without the student’s consent

Using gender-specific slurs                     Physically assaulting …

Examples of bases for complaints include, but are not limited to, the above list, as well as improper rejection by the district of a student’s asserted gender identity, denial of access to facilities that correspond with a student’s gender identity, improper disclosure of a student’s gender identity, discriminatory enforcement of a dress code, and other instances of gender-based harassment.

…  the district shall address each situation on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the following guidelines:

Right to privacy:  A student’s intersex, nonbinary, transgender, or gender-nonconforming status is the student’s private information. The district shall develop strategies to prevent unauthorized disclosure of students’ private information.  Such strategies may include, but are not limited to, collecting or maintaining information about student gender only when relevant to the educational program or activity, protecting or revealing a student’s gender identity as necessary to protect the health or safety of the student, and keeping a student’s unofficial record separate from the official record.

The district shall only disclose the information to others with the student’s prior written consent, except when the disclosure is otherwise required by law or when the district has compelling evidence that disclosure is necessary to preserve the student’s physical or mental well-being.  In any case, the district shall only allow disclosure of a student’s personally identifiable information to employees with a legitimate educational interest as determined by the district pursuant to 34 CFR 99.31.  Any district employee to whom a student’s intersex, nonbinary, transgender, or gender-nonconforming status is disclosed shall keep the student’s information confidential. When disclosure of a student’s gender identity is made to a district employee by a student, the employee shall seek the student’s permission to notify the compliance officer.  If the student refuses to give permission, the employee shall keep the student’s information confidential, unless the employee is required to disclose or report the student’s information pursuant to this administrative regulation, and shall inform the student that honoring the student’s request may limit the district’s ability to meet the student’s needs related to the student’s status as an intersex, nonbinary, transgender, or gender-nonconforming student. If the student permits the employee to notify the compliance officer, the employee shall do so within three school days.

As appropriate given the student’s need for support, the compliance officer may discuss with the student any need to disclose the student’s intersex, nonbinary, transgender, or gender-nonconformity status or gender identity or gender expression to the student’s parents/guardians and/or others, including other students, teacher(s), or other adults on campus. The district shall offer support services, such as counseling, to students who wish to inform their parents/guardians of their status and desire assistance in doing so.

Determining a Student’s Gender Identity:  The compliance officer shall accept the student’s assertion of gender identity and begin to treat the student consistent with that gender identity unless district personnel present a credible and supportable basis for believing that the student’s assertion is for an improper purpose.

Addressing a Student’s Transition Needs:  The compliance officer shall arrange a meeting with the student and, if appropriate, the student’s parents/guardians to identify and develop strategies for ensuring that the student’s access to educational programs and activities is maintained. The meeting shall discuss the intersex, nonbinary, transgender, or gender-nonconforming student’s rights and how those rights may affect and be affected by the rights of other students and shall address specific subjects related to the student’s access to facilities and to academic or educational support programs, services, or activities, including, but not limited to, sports and other competitive endeavors. In addition, the compliance officer shall identify specific school site employee(s) to whom the student may report any problem related to the student’s status as an intersex, nonbinary, transgender, or gender-nonconforming individual, so that prompt action can be taken to address it.  Alternatively, if appropriate and desired by the student, the school may form a support team for the student that will meet periodically to assess whether the arrangements for the student are meeting the student’s educational needs and providing equal access to programs and activities, educate appropriate staff about the student’s transition, and serve as a resource to the student to better protect the student from gender-based discrimination.

Accessibility to Sex-Segregated Facilities, Programs, and Activities:  When the district maintains sex-segregated facilities, such as restrooms and locker rooms, or offers sex-segregated programs and activities, such as physical education classes, intermural sports, and interscholastic athletic programs, students shall be permitted to access facilities and participate in programs and activities consistent with their gender identity. To address any student’s privacy concerns in using sex-segregated facilities, the district shall offer available options such as a gender-neutral or single-use restroom or changing area, a bathroom stall with a door, an area in the locker room separated by a curtain or screen, or use of the locker room before or after the other students. However, the district shall not require a student to utilize these options because the student is intersex, nonbinary, transgender, or gender-nonconforming. In addition, a student shall be permitted to participate in accordance with the student’s gender identity in other circumstances where students are separated by gender, such as for class discussions, yearbook pictures, and field trips. A student’s right to participate in a sex-segregated activity in accordance with the student’s gender identity shall not render invalid or inapplicable any other eligibility rule established for participation in the activity.

Student Records:  Upon each student’s enrollment, the district is required to maintain a mandatory permanent student record (official record) that includes the student’s gender and legal name.

However, when proper documentation or authorization, as applicable, is not submitted with a request to change a student’s legal name or gender, any change to the student’s record shall be limited to the student’s unofficial records such as attendance sheets, report cards, and school identification.

Names and Pronouns:  If a student so chooses, district personnel shall be required to address the student by a name and the pronoun(s) consistent with the student’s gender identity, without the necessity of a court order or a change to the student’s official district record.  However, inadvertent slips or honest mistakes by district personnel in the use of the student’s name and/or consistent pronouns will, in general, not constitute a violation of this administrative regulation or the accompanying district policy.

Uniforms/Dress Code:  A student has the right to dress in a manner consistent with the student’s gender identity, subject to any dress code adopted on a school site.

1  material in brackets […] are my additions, for clarity.