Katy ISD Trustees Pass "Gender Fluidity" Book Ban

On Monday, Katy ISD trustees passed a revision to the district’s library book policy to ban titles featuring “gender fluidity” at the elementary and junior high school levels.

Board members Rebecca Fox and Dawn Champagne, who opposed the policy change during last week's workshop meeting, abstained from voting.

The measure was approved by a 5-0 vote, with board president Victor Perez and trustees Morgan Calhoun, Mary Ellen Cuzela, Amy Thieme and Lance Redmon voting in favor of it.

A mixed bag of current and former students, librarians, parents, and other community members who were both in favor and against the policy attended the meeting. Those who were for it largely addressed necessary safeguards to protect children’s innocence, often referencing their religious backgrounds.

Individuals against the policy spoke out about the need for all students — emphasizing transgender and other LGBTQ+ students — to have equal representation within the district and feel safe amongst their peers and teachers.

The proposed change will affect high school students, as parents can decide through an “opt-in” process whether or not they want their children to have access to books that feature such content.

The revision will also require vendors participating in the district’s book fairs or other partnering fundraisers to bring books that abide by the policy content requirements.

“My child will often randomly say, ‘I love my family,’ which is then often followed up by hugs and kisses to both of their parents, ‘mommy’ and ‘mama babe,’” Amanda Rose, president of nonprofit Katy Pride and a Katy ISD parent, said. “Imagine having to tell your child — someone who loves deeply and without limits for anyone — that books about families like theirs are not welcome in their school library.”

Kadence Carter, a former Katy ISD student, embodied Rose’s concerns as he told trustees that he unenrolled from the district shortly after the passage of the “gender fluidity” last year.

This district policy prohibits instruction related to gender identity and sexuality and forces faculty to out students who choose to go by different names or pronouns. Carter sarcastically wished the board a “happy anniversary” to commemorate its approval.

“You said that policy was to give parents a say in their child’s life at school, but if that’s the case, then why are you banning books rather than allowing parents to continue to opt in or out of letting these kids read books?” Carter said. “The hypocrisy is very clearly visible.”

Carter, similar to a handful of other speakers, reiterated that books that feature LGBTQ+ representation do not “turn” children gay or transgender.

"Giving kids access to books with transgender characters will not make your kids trans,” Travis Thorton, a Tompkins High School student, said. “Just like reading Mein Kampf for history class does not mean to a Nazi, or reading Das Kapital for economics class does not make you a Russian communist."

Those who attended Monday night's meeting who supported the policy argued that having access to texts that contain such materials could negatively influence a child.

Emelie Schmidt, a self-described “detransitioner,” discussed her experience of being “groomed” to be transgender. She said because she was a tomboy, people and what she referred to as trans-focused media pushed her to transition.

“I was walking down a path of suicidal ideations and anxiety due to media like these books that you have available to children,” Schmidt said. “I'm here to ask you, why do you want to teach children that their bodies are wrong? If you keep these books available, I have to ask you why do you want to teach children that self-hatred is normal?”

Schmidt’s public comments were cookie-cutter compared to those she gave in front of Conroe ISD’s board of trustees when they held a public hearing on the challenged text Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart, which features a transgender teen character.

Her traveling rhetoric has carved its path all the way to the Texas Capitol, where she has testified against legislation in committee hearings.

News features sharing the details of Schmidt's claims that her public school district, Port Neches-Groves ISD, exacerbated the “grooming” have circulated widely across multiple conservative media outlets — notably Texas Scorecard.

Schmidt was not the sole traveling act at Monday night’s board meeting. Richard Vega, a pastor who pops up at school board meetings across the country to read what he deems sexually explicit excerpts from texts, was in attendance.

Vega has ties to Citizens Defending Freedom and Remnant Alliance, two Christian, Conservative groups that regularly advocate for book removals and “value protective” measures in public school districts.

“On your last vote on Katy ISD board votes on how to address transgender students, Rebecca, Dawn and Lance, you all voted against it. I am not sure why,” Vega said. “You guys don’t have to explain to me, but you guys call yourself conservatives — I’d really have to try to figure out how that is so.”

Vega did not read sections of texts aloud, unlike during his appearance at an earlier board meeting in March. However, Denise Bell, the Moms For Liberty chapter chair of Harris County, did.

Bell requested that if there were children in the audience, their parents would escort them out or cover their ears as she read aloud several parts of the book Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin.

The text, which features interviews and images focusing on the experiences of six transgender and nonbinary teenagers and young adults, is categorized as a teen and young adult book. It is recommended for those in junior year of high school or older.

Since the text is at the high school level, it would be subject to parents’ self-selection under the “opt-in” policy. Therefore, parents would have a relatively easy way of restricting access to the title if they deemed it inappropriate for their child without needing the district to pull it from shelves altogether.

“Public libraries in Texas are facing similar pressure to censor LGBTQ stories from the same people — she motions to Vega — and groups working to remove them from school libraries,” Anne Russey, one of the co-founders of the Texas Freedom To Read Project, said. “So, make no mistake, when you remove access to these books you’re banning them.”

Although Champagne and Fox’s decision to abstain appeared to be based on their sheer opposition to the policy's contents, they listed several reasons for opting to hold a vote.

Champagne cited concerns regarding the vagueness of Perez’s definition of “gender fluidity,” the possibility of the revision opening the district up to litigation, and the extra work it would give librarians who audited collections last year when the district banned “sexually explicit” content from campus libraries.

She also clarified that she did not believe in promoting gender fluidity in children.

Fox echoed her sentiment during past workshop discussions on the measure and said she was done talking about books. Instead, she wanted to pivot the board’s attention to where it should be on the district's education outcomes and related priorities.