WINNECONNE (NBC 26) — Next Tuesday is the first day of school for Winneconne Community School District students, but there’s been a discourse in the community about something else: new federal Title IX regulations.
- On Aug. 19, the WCSD voted 6-1 to remove gender identity from their Title IX policy.
- The change won't affect the district's response to discrimination.
- Attorney for the school district says WCSD is not in danger of losing immediate federal Title IX funding.
On Aug. 19, the Winneconne Community School District board voted to adopt the new Title IX regulations, but removed language that includes gender identity, sexual stereotypes and sexual orientation.
The board first voted on the regulations on Aug. 5, when they passed the new regulations 4-3.
The issue was brought for further discussion on Aug. 19, and nearly 100 people showed up to voice their opinions.
The majority of those that spoke during public comment were against the inclusion of gender identity in Winneconne Title IX policies.
Only one person who spoke on Aug. 19 was in favor of the new regulations.
The main concern voiced through public comment was safety for cis-gendered students– those who identify with the sex assigned at birth– in bathrooms and locker rooms.
“The reality of it is, in Winneconne School District, we do not have open bathrooms,” Peggy Larson district administrator for WCSD says. “I feel like they feel there's a perception that people can be going into bathrooms randomly, when they want, and that's just not the case."
While the inclusion of gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual stereotypes in Title IX policies is new for school districts, Wisconsin State Law 118.3 was already in place, saying:
“… no person may be denied admission to any public school or be denied participation in, be denied the benefits of or be discriminated against in any curricular, extracurricular, pupil services, recreational or other program or activity because of the person's sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.”
While the policy does not state “gender identity” explicitly, WCSD attorney Tony Renning argues the use of broad definition does include gender identity.
Larson says the WCSD has always prohibited sexual harassment against any student, regardless of Title IX definitions.
"Harassment, sexual harassment of any kind is just not tolerated of any kind at any level, so us moving forward, that's what we're going to focus on,” she says.
Renning says after taking out gender identity, sexual stereotypes and sexual orientation from the district’s Title IX policy, they are not in accordance with the federal regulations, which puts them at risk for losing federal Title IX funding.
However, Renning says the Department of Education does not have the capacity to investigate every school district, so he does not believe WCSD will immediately lose any funding.
Also, because of the current lawsuit State of Kansas v. United States Department of Education, where parents and organizations are suing the DOE because of the new regulations, the court ruled on July 2 that the Department of Education could not enforce the new regulations in the plaintiff states or at any schools where children with parents in the plaintiff organizations attend.
The plaintiff organizations listed are Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United.
Winneconne Middle School and Elementary School are among those with parents in Moms for Liberty, according to Renning, so the district would never have been required to implement the new Title IX in those schools.
Renning says the only worry he has with the district not adopting the entirety of the new Title IX regulations is in the possibility of private parties finding the district liable– if a parent or student were to sue the district over discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation or sexual stereotypes.
Kelly Cartwright grew up in the Winneconne area and has a child in the district. She was the only person at the Aug. 19 meeting who spoke in favor of including gender identity in Title IX.
“There aren't a lot of people in the community that are trans and non-binary, but they do deserve respect, and they need a welcoming voice in the community, and know they're cared about, so it was really my main goal to show up and be that person for them,” she says.
Cartwright says despite pushback at the board meeting, she believes the majority of the Winneconne community is behind the school board’s original decision.
“I would say the most people that I've talked to have been like, this is getting way blown out of proportion, this is like a lot of noise about nothing to change, and they really have the same feeling like we want people to live who they are, and we're willing to welcome everybody into our community,” she says.
For those on the other side of the aisle, like local parent Adam Ahrens, the Winnebago County chair for Moms for Liberty– a national conservative political group– the majority of parents do not want gender identity in Title IX.
“If we were to put this up for referendum, it would probably pass 90 plus percent,” he says. “So I definitely represent the majority, whether or not they want to admit that or believe that.”
Ahrens says because the Winneconne middle and elementary schools were exempt from the requirement to implement the new Title IX regulations, the board should not have voted yes in the first place.
“I definitely feel like it’s a step in the right direction, but I also feel that it was, there were three straight school board meetings that were contentious, and this all could have been avoided,” he says. “Why when other schools choose not to did you choose to, against the community’s wishes?”
Still, Ahrens says he is happy to send his daughter to WCSD.
“I’m excited to go to Winneconne,” he says. “If my kids have to go to public school, absolutely decided to go to Winneconne. That’s why I chose it because of the more conservative values that Winneconne upholds.”
Since the board’s first decision to adopt the new regulations on Aug. 5, the community in Winneconne, including members of Moms for Liberty, have held rallies and displayed yard signs calling for the resignation of the board members who voted to implement the new Title IX.
Larson says the board voted 6-1 to take out gender identity from the policy to try and ease some of the concerns.
“I would say the board and a few community members entered into a compromise,” she says.
While some parents are worried about the safety of LGBTQ youth, others are worried about the safety of cis-gendered students.
“I think that a lot of people have the shared thought of safety and fear, so if people could just open up their minds and have more conversations,” Shawn, a non-binary individual who grew up in the WCSD, says.
Shawn, who did not wish to include their last name, says they have experienced a few negative instances as a non-binary adult in Winneconne, including being called a slur and having their pride flag torn down. However, they say they still see Winneconne as a welcoming community.
“I was not out, but I did go to school here, and I had a lot of support here, and the staff was very supportive to me, and very much like this was my safe place,” they say. “But just like many other things, there's not a huge diversity of much in Winneconne, so I think it's important that if I have the privilege to be able to openly, safely, be representation, I use it.”
Larson hopes once school is underway, parents will see WCSD as a welcoming place.
“Winneconne School District is a great place to be,” she says. “People might have different believes, values, but ultimately, when they start the school year, I think they’re going to see that every student is treated with compassion and kindness.”
