Jackson Local school board addresses lawsuit over gender and names directives

Patricia Faulhaber
·2 min read
6
Jackson Local Schools District (Stark County, Ohio)
Jackson Local Schools District (Stark County, Ohio)

JACKSON TWP. − Jackson Local families want to know more about how the district handles student names and pronouns, following a former Jackson Memorial Middle School teacher’s federal lawsuit against the district.

Five of the nearly 40 people who attended Tuesday’s school board meeting spoke to the board and referenced the former teacher’s lawsuit that accuses the school district of forcing her to resign for refusing to address two students by names that were “inconsistent” with their biological sex.

How other Stark schools handle pronounsHoover High debates if students can use preferred names, pronouns without parental consent

One resident asked the board how parents are taken into consideration when making decisions about students. The board responded that the district complies with federal and state laws regulating school districts.

“The way students identify themselves can be fluid,” Superintendent Christopher DiLoreto said. “Students come to us with a lot of different needs, and we are doing the best we can to meet their needs while remaining in compliance with federal and state laws.”

The board also distributed a letter signed by board President Christopher V. Goff that addressed the lawsuit.

The letter offered several points, including:

  • The district does not have a policy regarding its teachers and the gender identity of students.

  • The district will strive to provide a safe, comfortable environment for its nearly 6,000 students in which to learn.

  • The district has engaged legal counsel and will have no further comment on pending litigation.

  • Students are the district’s priority, and it is determined to create “the best learning environment while respecting individual and cultural differences.”

  • The district will follow the law. The U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights has made it clear it will enforce Title IX’s ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and the gender identity of students.

New transportation facility project moves forward

In other business, the school board:

  • Authorized advertising for public bids for the new transportation facility to be located behind the high school.

  • Approved the following overnight field trips: Wrestling to attend a varsity tournament at Maumee Bay in Oregon, Ohio, on Jan. 13-14; Speech and Debate Tournament in Pittsburgh at Upper St. Clair High School on Feb. 10-12; Cheerleading to attend a national varsity tournament at Disney's Allstar Resort in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 10-13; and Boys lacrosse to attend varsity games in Columbus on April 14-15.

  • Scheduled the board’s annual organizational meeting for 5 p.m. Jan. 10 at Lake Cable Elementary, with its regular meeting immediately after.

  • Appointed Tonya Wright as the president pro tem for the organizational meeting.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jackson Local school board addresses lawsuit about gender and names