The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is beginning the process of updating its policies to account for transgender and gender nonconforming students and employees.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is beginning the process of updating its policies to account for transgender and gender nonconforming students and employees.
The school board’s Policy Committee met Monday and considered revisions to existing policies add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of characteristics against which discrimination will not be allowed.
The committee also considered new guidelines, provided by the Alaska Association of School Boards, establishing a process for meeting the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming students, as well as any student personally impacted by accommodation for a transgender student.
The suggested process involves a student or their parents contacting a principal or counselor to address their concerns and requests. A meeting would then be held and a plan developed to address those needs. The plan could include things like restroom and locker room use, dress code, participation in athletics and use of the student’s preferred name and pronoun. Medical documentation would not be required and all student information would be kept strictly confidential.
Under the policy, schools could still maintain gender-separate restrooms and locker rooms. Transgender students would be free to participate in sports and use the facilities consistent with their gender identity. If uncomfortable doing so, other accommodations could be made, like the use of a nearby, private restroom, or a separate changing schedule. Those accommodations could also be made for a student who expresses discomfort over sharing a locker room or restroom with a transgender student.
Dan Castimore, a school board member who is on the Policy Committee, said the committee will seek public input before any decisions are made.
“I think December would be the absolute earliest we would ever take action on that, maybe even longer than that out. It was discussed that we need to get a lot more community input, including from the site-based councils. And there’s not really a huge hurry on that because we’re already addressing those issues as they come up. We haven’t had complaints or anything, so it’s really just a process we’re going to work through slowly,” said Castimore.
The policy revision process typically takes a minimum four to five months, Castimore said, or longer with difficult or controversial matters.