ASHEVILLE – The city school board has adopted policies to bring the district into compliance under new state law SB 49, which area advocates fear will result in discrimination against LGBTQ+ students.
The law includes requirements that parents must be notified before their child uses a different name or pronouns in school, which critics of the law say will force students to be “outed” to parents, rather than allowing them to come out on their own terms.
It also bans curriculum on gender identity, sexual activity and sexuality from being taught in kindergarten through fourth-grade classrooms.
Asheville City Schools’ Feb. 12 vote came after months of delays , bypassing a Jan. 1 deadline, as board members worked to soften and tweak policy language, in some cases removing requirements from policy entirely to address through district procedures instead, a move board members say will give them greater “flexibility.”
Vice Chair Amy Ray, who is a lesbian, said the board attempted to adhere to the law “in a way that causes the least amount of harm while acknowledging that the purpose, in my opinion, of this law is to create harm.”