- Bernadette Nutall
The Dallas Independent School District’s administration is reportedly resisting an effort to include specific protections for LGBT students in a new bullying policy, setting up a possible showdown over the issue during Thursday’s board of trustees meeting.
DISD trustee Bernadette Nutall told Instant Tea on Wednesday that the district’s attorneys are objecting to her proposal to list categories of protected students in the bullying policy, because they say it could open up the district up to lawsuits from those who are left out.
Nutall said she submitted a fully inclusive policy that includes both sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to the administration on Tuesday, Nov. 2. However, the administration has posted a noninclusive version of the policy that doesn’t list any categories of protected students on Thursday’s agenda.
Nuttall encouraged people in the LGBT community to attend the board meeting and speak in support of the substitute policy she’s proposing along with Trustee Lew Blackburn. Those who wish to speak at the meeting must sign up by calling 972-925-3720 before 5 p.m. Wednesday. The meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the board room at district offices, 3700 Ross Ave. in Dallas.
“I don’t know why they don’t want to put it in there,” Nutall said. “I was very frustrated. I really don’t understand the resistance. I’m thinking it’s a no-brainer, but I’m finding out that it’s not. … The community needs to drive this policy.”
A DISD spokeswoman said the board of trustees will discuss the proposed bullying policy on Thursday but will not take a final vote.
“They will be talking about the policy that you see [on the agenda], and they can add or change the language as they see fit,” the spokeswoman said. “Tomorrow’s briefing will kind of determine what direction this is going to take and what additional language, if any, they want to see.”
Rafael McDonnell, a spokesman for Resource Center Dallas, said Wednesday that at least three LGBT leaders, including himself, plan to speak at Thursday’s meeting. The others are Jesse Garcia, president of the LULAC Rainbow Council, and Roger Poindexter, the new director for Lambda Legal’s South Central Region.
McDonnell said he’ll request that the board of trustees delay consideration of the bullying policy until it can further discussed.
“Even if people don’t want to speak, I think we need to pack the chambers,” McDonnell said, noting that many other school districts around the nation have adopted fully inclusive bullying policies without objections from attorneys. “Clearly there are other legal minds who come to a different answer.”
Why would a School District need a list of people not to BULLY? How about if NO KID is BULLIED!!! What the Hell is wrong with people now days?! Now they want a list of who & who cant be Bullied!! That is jt Plain Stupid. The lawyer is right someone is going to get sued over this!!
Stay classy, heterosexuals.
ALWAYS stay classy! While your gay kids get the crap beat out of them daily.
God must be SO proud!
@Leslie…I think there is a way to cover all children but still give concrete descriptions. Example, you cannot be bullied based on appearance. I heard of a story recently of a young girl who was assaulted b/c she was pretty. This would also cover kids who don’t dress up to fashion standards, overweight, underweight, too short, too tall, big lips, bucked teeth, pimples, clear skin…do I need to go on? We also need to name the ones that are covered under the EEO Act which includes race, gender, religion, disabability and we MUST include sexual orientation (FYI straight is a sexual orientation) and gender identity. I am worried about who’s gonna get left out. No one is gonna contest that a fat kid should be allowed to go to school in peace but is anyone gonna stand up for the gay kid or the trans kid? That is why we are here and that is why we are fighting for this inclusion. If you don’t get that, then I don’t know what else to say.
I have a problem with Nutall saying “students must be free to learn and free to be who they want to be”.It is inciting students to do whatever they want to do even if it disrupts others rights and the school environment. A student can complain that he is being bullied by a school official stopping him to enter the building because he is dressed like a girl even if he is a boy. What’s next? LGBT will propose the change of district dress code, change the UIL rules, proposed that transgendered students can attend ALL Boys and ALL Girls school in order for them to be “free to learn and free to be who they want to be”. And if they are being refused of admission, it is discrimination, it is bullying. I can understand Blackburn and Nutall want to get votes from the LGBT community but at least say something smarter.