NOTE: You do not have to read this entire page word-for-word. Please scroll to the sections that are relevant to your needs/interests/curiosities.
Hello! Thank you for advocating for LGBTQIA2+ students, educators, and families in Falcon School District 49 (D49). The D49 School Board is trying to pass a resolution that recognizes only two biological sexes, following the federal administration’s hateful and harmful rhetoric. The resolution itself sends a clear message to LGBTQIA2+ community members in D49 that the School Board does not recognize their existence, their rights, or their humanity. Further, this resolution lays the groundwork for the district to deny students their rights to use facilities that align with their gender identities and participate on affirming sports teams.
Even if you do not live in D49, please tell them not to pass this resolution! It is most impactful if you can make a personal connection with the district, such as mentioning your friends, co-workers, or employees who live in the district, but any expertise is welcome!
Let’s show trans and gender-expansive students that they aren’t alone. There is also the risk that if D49 passes this resolution without community pushback, other local districts may try to pass similar resolutions. We want to show strong support against this rhetoric so it can’t spread easily.
Click here to see the draft Resolution
Problems with the Resolution: (See Talking Points for explanations and counter arguments)
- It directs the Board and Superintendent to begin implementing discriminatory policies and practices including taking away gender neutral spaces like restrooms and locker rooms, which creates a learning environment that jeopardizes the mental and emotional safety of students who are already at higher risk for suicide and other negative health outcomes.
- It is fundamentally, factually incorrect. The claim that there are only two sexes has been repeatedly found false. Just because a certain administration says something is true or writes it in all caps does not mean the information is factual.
- It purposefully misinterprets Colorado anti-discrimination law(implementation of this is illegal and they know that
- The name of this resolution claims to be for the purpose of protecting students, while actively doing the opposite by increasing harm.
- It complies with executive orders that are first, not laws, and second, out of line with Colorado state law that cannot be overridden at the whim of the executive.
There is no data available that suggests risks to cisgender people increase when trans people are affirmed in their spaces. That includes in restrooms, sports participation, access to clubs, open gender expression, or anything else.
- In fact, unaffirming spaces increase actual negative mental and physical health outcomes for LGBTQIA2+ people every day. If student safety is the priority, this resolution won’t only fail, but it will increase harm.
- If the School Board is operating with a different set of research or facts, it is up to them to provide that data from a reliable source. Otherwise, they are making this decision based on hypotheticals, “what ifs”, and personal discomfort with other people’s lives. None of those are valid grounds to pass a resolution which purposefully hateful language and real harmful impacts on students.
Our Demand/Ask
- Do not pass this resolution.
- Ask the School Board Members to reconsider how this type of messaging impacts their community and their reputation
- In drafting this resolution, the D49 School Board’s actions are out of line with community values they themselves claim to adhere to professionally and likely in their personal lives. Point out this hypocrisy and make them feel uncomfortable with the language they are using against their own students.
Logistics
Meeting Logistics:
The School Board Meeting where they will vote on this resolution will be on Thursday, April 10th, at 6:30pm. It will be held at the Creekside Success Center – D49 (3850 Pony Tracks Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80922). You do not need to sign up to attend the meeting, but you DO need to sign up to give public comment.
To sign up for public comment you need to be at the meeting at 5:30, an hour before the meeting starts, to reserve a time to speak. This is inconvenient, but we can be there in community together while we wait! At the meeting, supportive community members are encouraged to wear purple.
Email logistics:
The emails for all 5 board members are listed here. We recommend emailing each person on the board together on the same email. You can reach out to [email protected] if you want someone to help you write or review your email.
Jamilynn D’avola: [email protected]
Deb Schmidt: [email protected]
Marie Lavere-Wright: [email protected]
Lori Thompson: [email protected]
Mike Heil: [email protected]
Public Comment Template:
Public Comment is 2 minutes in D49, which is fast. Please practice your comment while timing yourself to make sure you can give your full comment. If you have more to say, sending an email in addition to your comment is more than okay.
Hi,
My name is ______, and I am a ____ (parent, teacher, student, community member etc.) I appreciate the opportunity to speak on your proposed resolution.
(You can name the resolution by its title, but the use of the words “protecting safety and privacy” gives this resolution more credit than it deserves. Some ways you could refer to this resolution otherwise include “the resolution on gender identity, or ___)
Opening Statement: (State a clear and concise statement of your position and why it matters.)
Example: The proposed resolution is not only factually untrue, it is hateful and goes against state anti-discrimination law.
Personal Story (if applicable):
Share a brief, relevant story to show how this resolution directly impacts the board’s community and constituents.
Supporting Points: (1-3 Key Arguments and Stories) Any of the talking points below can be used here, personal stories are the most impactful inclusions you can make if you have them.
- Share why resolutions like this are unacceptable in our community. You can speak to its conflicts with state law, community values like compassion or a dedication to information, or how it conflicts with the district’s proclaimed values of “care, respect, trust, and responsibility.”
- Provide facts, statistics, or personal experience that show why the claims made in this resolution are untrue, harmful, dangerous, or all of the above.
- Expand on a previous point or offer another reason why this issue is important. This could include best practices seen in other districts, legal considerations, or why this resolution upsets or frustrates you. Emotions can be powerful!
Call to Action:
(In your own words, specifically state what action you want the board to take.)
Ex. I am asking you not to pass this resolution and consider how rhetoric like this harms the students and families you were elected to support.
Closing (if you want):
“Thank you for your time.”
Email Template:
While there is no limit to how long your email can be, the shorter it is the more likely the School Board will read it all. Try to keep your email concise and utilize underlines and bolding to call attention to your most important points.
Subject (Please Personalize!): Community Concerns on the Gender Resolution
Dear Members of the District 49 School Board,
My name is____, and I am writing to you as a _____ (your role, e.g., concerned community member, parent of a student, educator, etc.). I appreciate the opportunity to share my concerns/frustrations regarding the proposed resolution _____
(You can name the resolution by its title, but the use of the words “protecting safety and privacy” gives this resolution more credit than it deserves. Some ways you could refer to this resolution otherwise include “the resolution on gender identity,” with adjectives that reflect how you feel about the resolution)
Share why this matters to you: (State a clear and concise statement of your position and why it is important.) Example: “Recognizing the reality of transgender students and their rights in your district is essential for their wellbeing and academic success. Sending this message to our community is (deeply upsetting, hateful, harmful, discriminatory, etc.)
Key Points – Any of the talking points below can be used, but personal stories are always powerful additions.
Points can be made in any order, sharing what speaks to you is the most important thing to do.
- Share why resolutions like this are unacceptable in our community. You can speak to its conflicts with state law, community values like compassion or a dedication to information, or how it conflicts with the district’s proclaimed values of “care, respect, trust, and responsibility.”
- Provide facts, statistics, or personal experience that show why the claims made in this resolution are untrue, harmful, dangerous, or all of the above.
- Expand on a previous point or offer another reason why this issue is important. This could include best practices seen in other districts, legal considerations, or why this resolution upsets or frustrates you. Emotions are powerful!
A personal story, if applicable: Sharing a brief, relevant personal story can be the most compelling thing people hear and has the most potential to stop them from passing this resolution.
Call to Action (Specifically state what action you want the Board to take): I urge the board to not pass this resolution and to consider how rhetoric like this harms the students and families they were elected to support.
Closing Statement: Remind them of the importance of your request and that you are paying attention to the decisions they are making that hurt LGBTQIA2+ students.
Sincerely, (Your Name)
Contact Information (if you would like them to reach out)
Talking Points
You do not have to read this entire document word-for-word. Please use the talking points that resonate with you, while including personal anecdotes you think would be powerful to share. Given the attitude of the Board, we think the talking points listed first will be the most effective, but a wide variety of responses from the community would show diverse reasoning behind our ask.
If you are interested in looking for other statistics to include in your communications, check out the following links
- Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/
- Healthy Kids Colorado: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/hkcs
- GLSEN School Climate Survey 2021: https://www.glsen.org/research/2021-national-school-climate-survey
Anger, Frustration, Sadness
- This is an upsetting resolution for them to try to pass. Professional obligations mean some people can’t share how angry, upset, hurt, or sad they feel about this policy. Students, parents, and community members may not have those same restrictions, and we urge folx to express their frustrations with this resolution in a way that is respectful but shows the harm this causes and the energy it generates in our community.
Colorado Anti-Discrimination Law
- D49 claims to be following categorical differences expressed in state law like HB21-1108, Gender Identity Expression Anti-discrimination. The law explicitly enumerates both gender identity and gender expression in Colorado anti-discrimination law, covering spaces of public accommodation and education, insurance and housing, local and state government, and more.
- The argument might be that because “sex” is listed separately from “gender identity” and “gender expression” that there is a recognized difference between the two. That reading is completely antithetical to the law, which actively names protections the D49 board will revoke with this resolution. Those protections are listed as the “full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of a place of public accommodation.”
- HB21-1108: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb21-1108
- To use a bill explicitly protecting transgender and gender expansive people from discrimination to attempt to erase them is purposefully inflammatory.
Safety and Wellbeing of Students
- We know trans youth are deeply affected by national, state, and local rhetoric surrounding their identities. 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said their well-being was negatively impacted due to recent policies.
- When their learning environments feel unsafe, students are less likely to have high GPAs, less likely to go to college, and more likely to experience school disengagement.
- All reputable studies show the best way to contribute to positive health outcomes for transgender, gender-nonconforming, and questioning youth is to affirm them, believe them, and respect them. This resolution goes directly against best practices in youth support.
- LGBTQIA2+ students who reported lower levels of victimization reported significantly higher GPAs and were nearly twice as likely to pursue higher education after high school.
Facts about Sex and Gender
- Sex, as a scientific definition, is usually binary. However, to claim that the existence of the binary excludes any other possibility or variety, even in scientific contexts, is wrong.
- This ignores the roughly 1.7 percent of people who are intersex, which means they do not have either of these chromosomal varieties or another hormonal, genital, or developmental difference. That is around the same amount of people who have red hair, and many people don’t realize they are intersex, so numbers are likely underreported.
- Sex and Gender Identity
- Sex and Gender – This resolution correctly identifies that gender and sex are not the same thing but use that claim to justify “protecting” cisgender students at the expense of transgender students. Rights and protections are not a zero-sum game, granting them to students in need does not harm students who already have them.
- Given the regularity at which the sex “binary” fails to describe physical characteristics of people, it should not be surprising that our social identities, which are different than our sexes assigned at birth, are incredibly diverse.
- To try to erase transgender and intersex people from D49 schools is an incredibly risky kind of rhetoric for public officials to be spouting. It shows they are ignoring their students, families, and educators on top of community experts and data. When a disregard for facts is paired with hate for a group, real people are put in harm’s way.
