NYC Public Schools Chancellor David Banks had to quiet a rowdy room of concerned parents when the topic of transgender rights was brought up during an education council meeting at M.S. 131 in Lower Manhattan on Thursday night.
The issue at stake was Community Education Council District 2’s Resolution 248, which calls for the Department of Education to review its Guidelines on Gender Inclusion, a move that some say could potentially exclude transgender athletes from playing on girls’ sports teams.
The meeting was more crowded than typical CEC meetings, with nearly 200 parents in attendance. They were there to share their concerns about a variety of education issues, but mostly to hear Banks’ response to the resolution, which was originally passed by the education council in an 8 to 3 vote on March 20.
Parents in support of the resolution want the guidelines reviewed because the policy does not indicate whether the DOE consulted with female athletes, coaches, sports medicine doctors or other experts in athletics or childhood development when they were created in 2019.
Meanwhile, parents opposing the resolution at the meeting chanted, “Rescind 248!” while Banks spoke.
For more than a month, the resolution has remained a point of contention within the district. But in an attempt to put the issue to rest, Banks made it clear to the fired-up parents that no such review would happen under his watch.
“We recently responded to a resolution from this council that we form a committee to re-examine our gender guidelines, particularly in the context of allowing trans athletes to participate on athletic teams,” Banks said. “Our response to the proposed resolution was very clear. We will not be entertaining changes to that guidance.”
The chancellor received mixed reactions from the room.
“Every decision that we make as an administration is always taken with a level of consideration for lots of voices,” Banks told the crowd of mixed emotions. “We try to do the right thing, That doesn’t mean that every parent will be in agreement.”
He added that the resolution is non-binding, meaning it is merely advisory and does not hold any weight when it comes to changing the rules of the policy.
The guidelines, which were created by former schools chancellor Richard Carranza, state that “generally, a student must be permitted to participate in physical education, intramural sports, and competitive athletic activities and contact sports in accordance with the student’s gender identity asserted at school.
What parents are saying
Gavin Healy, a parent and council member, was not fully pleased with the chancellor’s response to what he called a “nefarious” resolution. He suggested the chancellor remove education council members who do not support trans students, specifically those who support the resolution.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Healy said after the meeting. “Chancellor Banks needs to make the hard decisions and remove people from office who don’t recognize the existence of trans kids and their right to participate in all aspects of our public schools in accordance with gender identity.”
Healy said he’d even “100% support” the removal of Maud Maron, one of the CEC members who sponsored the resolution. When Maron tried to speak at the meeting, she was met with boos, although the topic she was bringing up had to do with math scores, not trans rights.
amNew York Metro reached out to Maron for comment via social media but did not hear back.
Another parent at the meeting said she liked that Banks spoke “forcefully” while opposing the resolution but added that he needed to do more.
“Ultimately, he’s not doing enough to cut the problem at its root,” the parent said. “I have heard the chancellor speak forcefully in other contexts and have seen nothing come of it.”
