New gender identity policies in Crawford Central SD sparks debate over legality

It’s a conversation happening across the country, school districts everywhere are looking into how to address gender in schools.

Monday night, Crawford Central School District took aim at new policies that would set standards for people identifying as a gender not given to them at birth.

These new policies look to comply with Title IX regulations but the district’s solicitor warned that the district could put themself in a harmful position if they move forward.

Crawford Central School District is discussing the potential creation of new policies that would draw a line for people who are looking to be called the name and gender they choose in the school’s record books, sex-based distinction on bathroom and other facility use, and a sex-based distinction in athletics.

Each member of the board declined to go on camera directly for an interview, but still spoke to the public at large at Monday night’s meeting.

“When we release these kids into the real world, you can no longer pick and choose what you want to be and stuff like that. I think XX and XY chromosomes are the way to go moving forward,” said Ron Irwin, a Crawford Central School Board member.

It’s a conversation not unique to Crawford Central but they’re approaching it with caution. The district solicitor said it’s illegal to deny students their rights; some board members agreed.

“It’s protected, it’s legally protected. And so, we can choose our gender identity when we graduate high school,” said fellow Crawford Central School Board member Ryan Pickering. “You do get to leave your high school environment and escape from some of these ideas about what science is or isn’t.”

And others disagreed.

“It seems to me like it’s in clear compliance with the wording and the language of Title IX,” said Edward DeVore, another Crawford Central School Board.

The district solicitor claimed implementing these policies would likely put a huge target on the district’s back by means of a legal battle. One, residents said they can’t afford.

We spoke with some residents in the district who said they came to learn more about the budget but left today thinking about a different topic in mind.

“From what I gathered at the meeting, it sounds like it would be a violation of the Title IX law, which is an anti-discrimination law,” said Joe Tompkins, a Crawford Central District resident. “I also think, given the budget situation, it looks like it’d be a hefty legal battle, so it looks like some additional costs. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Nobody has an easy time with it growing up, everybody’s figuring themselves out, and it’s absolutely critical to have a supportive school environment,” said Lisbet Searle-White, another Crawford Central District resident.

The board will consider if the policies will move on to a vote at their next upcoming meeting on April 22.

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