Schools Panel Wants Trans Kids Out of Girls Sports, But Seeks More Resources for LGBTQ+ Students; Won’t Disavow Extremist Group
The Community Education Council (CEC) for public school District 2 has considered multiple contentious resolutions in recent weeks. The CEC is an elected panel responsible for advising on educational policies and providing input to the Department of Education (DOE) on matters of concern to the district. District Two encompasses Lower Manhattan, as well as the West Side south of 59th Street and parts of the East Side.
The most notable of these is a measure enacted at the CEC’s March 20 meeting that urges the DOE to consider barring transgender female athletes (meaning those who are biologically male, but self-identify as female) from participating in sports programs for girls, particularly in the Public School Athletic League (PSAL).
This resolution arises from the DOE’s 2019 Guidelines on Gender, a policy document that says (in part), “generally, a student must be permitted to participate in physical education, intramural sports, and competitive athletic activities and contact sports in accordance with the student’s gender identity asserted at school.”
The CEC’s resolution says, “the Gender Guidelines, as currently drafted, present challenges to youth athletes and coaches. Some of the concerns raised about the current Gender Guidelines center on preserving and acknowledging decades of progress by NYC PSAL female athletes to achieve sports equity.”
The measure goes on to argue that, “every year, NYC student athletes are recruited by colleges and universities across the country on the strength of their athletic promise and record of achievement. NYC PSAL athletes earn scholarships and awards from their sports participation and achievement which are both personally rewarding and allow many students to continue their education. The ability to access team roster spots, titles, awards, records, scholarships, achievements and opportunities are major factors in athletic scholarships.”
The resolution concludes by urging DOE to “convene a Gender Guidelines review committee” that would be “authorized to propose amendments, changes and additions to the Gender Guidelines which are the result of an inclusive, evidence-based process concerning the impact on female athletes when the category of sex is replaced by gender identity.”
A separate resolution enacted at the CEC’s March 20 meeting voices “support of our District 2 LGBTQ+ students and families” and calls on DOE to provide training to guidance counselors to help them comply with the State’s Dignity for All Students Act, and proposes “optional training and support sessions… [to] empower parents and guardians to understand how they can actively support LGBTQ+ students and become allies to the community.” The same measure urges DOE to increase staffing levels for LGBTQ+ programs at its Office of Safety and Youth Development “to effectively address the unique challenges and concerns confronting LGBTQ+ students within the public school system.”
A third resolution, which aimed to disavow support for the group Moms for Liberty, was voted down at the CEC’s February 28 meeting. Moms for Liberty, founded in Florida during the Covid pandemic to oppose masking, vaccine mandates, and school closures, has since been categorized as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As described by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Moms for Liberty calls for “book bans, classroom censorship, and bans on teaching about slavery, race, racism and LGBTQ people and history.”
This CEC measure debated in February said, “the District 2 Community Education Council condemns the hateful rhetoric and actions of Moms for Liberty” and “disavows any affiliation with, endorsement of, or support for Moms for Liberty.” This resolution was defeated, with five votes in support and six votes in opposition.