Wow! Carroll ISD is moving several steps backward based on this 5-1 school board vote striking gender, religion and sexual orientation from their nondiscrimination statement. It denies many youth protections and send a wrong, terrible message, especially for a district that already seems plagued by prejudicial woes as captured in the infamous Southlake podcast that I encourage all to listen to. My hope is that this district is the exception and not the rule, and also that the Dignity for all Texas Students group opposing this, ultimately prevails.
Angela Valenzuela
Carroll ISD strikes gender, religion, sexual orientation from nondiscrimination statement
The amendment, which was passed 5-1, means the statement will simply say the district “does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities.”
The Carroll ISD Administration Center photographed on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, in Southlake. (Juan Figueroa / The Dallas Morning News)(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
By Michael Williams | Dec. 12, 2022
“I think we can do better,” she said. “And after hearing from the community, hearing that students feel they’re being left out from our student code of conduct, or they’re not being valued, or that they may not feel safe — it’s not OK.”
The Monday vote was opposed by advocacy groups and more than a dozen parents who described the change as an attempt by the Carroll ISD board to weaken protections for students with non-straight, non-cisgender and non-Christian identities.
“This intentional removal of these protected classes is harmful to students and sends a loud and clear message that these classes are no longer protected or valued in CISD,” an advocacy group, Dignity for All Texas Students, said in a statement in advance of the vote.
On one side of the meeting room, four rows of people — about 20 in total — wore pins bearing the colors of the rainbow in support of LGBTQ students.
During public comment, 13 people, including parents of current and former LGBTQ Carroll students, spoke against the amendment. Three of the parents referenced a fight that took place at a Carroll ISD school last week that they claimed involved one student calling another a racial slur.
Attorney and former Carroll ISD school board president Buddy Luce said he was “personally appalled” that the amendment was being considered, imploring the board to “protect students.”
Three people spoke in favor of the proposed amendment, claiming federal discrimination law goes far enough to protect students, and complaining about what one speaker, Joseph Harvey, described as an “ever-expanding” list of identities and minorities requiring protection from discrimination.
“Where does it all end?” asked another speaker in favor of the changes, Juan Saldivar. “Where is the limit in ‘plus’ to LGBTQI-plus-whatever?”
When one parent who opposed the amendment muttered something in response to the comment, Saldivar asked the man if he wanted to discuss the issue outside.
Carroll ISD is an affluent district where three out of every five students are white, but which has been gradually diversifying. Its recent tenuous relationship with equity initiatives was the subject of a multipart NBC podcast.
In 2018 and 2019, the district was placed under the national spotlight after several white students were filmed chanting or saying the N-word. The ensuing controversy set off a round of soul-searching among the district’s students, parents and staff which eventually led to the creation of a plan to address racism.
The resulting Cultural Competence Action Plan included recommendations like hiring an equity and inclusion director, establishing a system for students to report discrimination and requiring cultural competency training. It was seen as a measure of progress for parents and students who have long complained about racism and anti-LGBTQ bigotry at Southlake schools.
But the plan was short-lived. Even before topics like critical race theory became a point of contention with school boards across the country, Carroll ISD parents packed board meetings, accusing the board of creating a “diversity police” force and promoting a left-wing agenda. The council was disbanded and the plan was rejected after a parent sued the school board and candidates who opposed the diversity initiative were voted into the board.
In 2021, during a discussion about how to navigate a recently passed law that required teachers to present contentious issues impartially, a Carroll school administrator was caught on video telling teachers to present “opposing” perspectives about the Holocaust, The News reported.
The video, obtained by NBC News, prompted an apology from the district and an acknowledgment that there were not two sides to the systemic murder of millions of Jews across Europe during World War II.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced the opening of an investigation into allegations of discrimination at Carroll ISD schools.
Russell Maryland, a former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle and longtime antiracism Southlake advocate, referenced that investigation during his public comment Monday: “It’s time to stop defending the indefensible,” he said.
“This proposed policy inspires mediocrity,” Maryland said. “It inspires an aversion to being great.”
Gloria Smith, a speaker during Monday’s meeting who described herself as an advocate for people with disabilities, said she’s worried this group will be the next protected class excluded from district statements.
“If you are who you say you are and believe what you say you believe, you will vote against this,” she said. “…Because, next it will be me, next it will be people with disabilities.”
Smith looked toward the board’s two female members: “And the women who are sitting there, next it will be you,” she said.
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