MNEA LGBTQ+ Support Statement
MNEA Representative Assembly New Business Item Passed 3/20/23:
MNEA calls on the MNPS Board of Education to once again pass a resolution asserting its support for all MNPS students, staff, and families regardless of gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. The statement will be published on the MNEA website and on social media and a representative will read it at the Board of Education before the end of April.
WHEREAS bills targeting LGBTQ+ Tennesseans violate the human rights of students, teachers, and community members. As educators it is our job to protect our school communities and stand against these bills as both our moral and professional responsibility.
WHEREAS an inclusive curriculum and access to texts with diverse perspectives is vital to the wellbeing of all students for creating representation and developing empathy. LGBTQ+ students deserve to see themselves mirrored in the books they can access at school and all students deserve to access texts with diverse perspectives. Students have a right to freedom of speech and access to information at school. Schools that teach LGBTQ+ history and literature see LGBTQ+ students with higher self-esteem and sense of belonging and cis-straight students who are more empathetic and more likely to stand up for their peers.
WHEREAS the "Age Appropriate Materials Act of 2022" requires schools to catalog all texts in school libraries and enables individual parents to have texts removed for all students. This bill has been used to target and remove materials that address LGBTQ+ identities, racism, and broad acceptance of diversity.
WHEREAS SB1/HB1 has been signed into law and will go into effect July 1 of this year banning gender-affirming care for trans youth, and efforts have already been undertaken to attack trans healthcare providers and block lifesaving care. In Nashville this has manifested as threats of violence against healthcare providers that offer gender-affirming care, including Vanderbilt’s Clinic for Transgender Health. Students who have already been receiving care through this program will be forced to halt that care and unwillingly go through the de-transitioning process without their own consent or their parents’ consent.
WHEREAS SB 1440/HB239 would legislate an anti-trans, anti-intersex, anti-nonbinary definition of "sex" defined in the bill as "a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth."
WHEREAS SB1117/HB1411 would require students to obtain parent permission to participate in Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs in school. This would put LGBTQ+ students without safe home environments at-risk. Restricting the organization of any student affinity groups limits the freedom of expression of students and staff in schools. Limiting the ability of schools to organize Gender Sexuality Alliances (GSA’s) violates our district’s autonomy to create groups which affirm students’ identities and offer safe spaces for self-expression and exploration.
WHEREAS HB1215/SB1339 would limit staff and families to receive gender-affirming healthcare - even as adults - if they receive their health insurance through TennCare. This would restrict low-income members of our community from receiving life-saving healthcare based on their gender identity and/or presentation.
WHEREAS HB1269/SB466 encourages teachers and staff to misgender students, directly contradicting MNPS's policy that "shall allow students and staff to use requested names and pronouns without requiring a legal name change or medical diagnosis" and contrary to the widely-recognized negative mental health impacts of misgendering. This violates Nashville’s local autonomy and makes it more difficult to create safe and affirming learning environments for LGBTQ+ students.
WHEREAS These bills would allow state control over everyday decisions educators make to support our students and welcome them in our schools and classrooms. We are standing up for our teachers’ and students’ rights to have an honest and inclusive curriculum and learning environments and to not be censored. Allowing the state to banish these materials and conversations or allowing parents to opt out of these conversations will perpetuate homophobia, further alienate LGBTQ+ students, and fail to prepare our students to exist in a multicultural world.
WHEREAS Students’ academic wellbeing is not the only thing at stake, but their physical and mental health. If trans students are denied safe facilities this will undoubtedly lead to bullying and violence against them, as well as compounding on the mental health struggles our trans students are already experiencing at a higher rate than their cis peers. It is our duty to keep our students safe.
WHEREAS Refusing to stand by and watch these bills pass, and refusing to follow these homophobic and transphobic guidelines from our state if they come to pass, will literally save our LGBTQ+ students’ lives.
RESOLVED that MNEA calls on the MNPS Board of Education to update its April 27 2021 Resolution in support of LGBTQ+ students and staff to respond to contemporary legislation and to reaffirm its commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ students and staff, especially trans and non-binary members of our MNPS community.