Wilsona School District
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Published – March 27, 2024
The Wilsona School District’s Nondiscrimination/Harassment Policy has a section titled “Issues Unique to Intersex, Nonbinary, Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Students” that lists several examples of what the district considers “gender-based harassment,” including:
- “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”
- “Revealing a student’s gender identity to individuals who do not have a legitimate need for the information, without the student’s consent”
The policy gives students the ability to change their name at school, without receiving parental permission:
“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.”
The district says they will “accept the student’s assertion of gender identity” and treat those students accordingly, unless they have a “credible and supportable basis for believing that the student’s assertion is for an improper purpose.”
Under 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.”
The district also has an Equity Policy that states:
“In order to eradicate institutional bias of any kind, including implicit or unintentional biases and prejudices that affect student achievement, and to eliminate disparities in educational outcomes for students from historically underserved and underrepresented populations, the district shall proactively identify class and cultural biases as well as practices, policies, and institutional barriers that negatively influence student learning, perpetuate achievement gaps, and impede equal access to opportunities for all students.”
The policy lays out several actions the district will take in pursuit of equity, including:
- “Routinely assessing student needs based on data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds in order to enable equity-focused policy, planning, and resource development decisions”
- “Adopting curriculum and instructional materials that accurately reflect the diversity among student groups”
- “Conducting program evaluations that focus on equity and address the academic outcomes and performance of all students on all indicators”
The Wilsona School District has an enrollment of over 1,250 students across three schools.
