By Caitlyn Freeman
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The Baltimore County Board of Education voted 9-1 Tuesday to adopt a resolution aimed at recognizing and addressing the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community in local schools. Two members abstained.
The measure was proposed by Christian Thomas, a the student member of the board who is a rising senior at Eastern Technical High School and identifies as LGBTQ+. His resolution states that board members will educate themselves on these disparities and support the fostering of conversations within schools that promote inclusivity, including topics such as sex and sexual orientation outside a traditional health class setting.
Essentially, the LGBTQ+ Inclusivity Resolution supports BCPS schools taking various actions to increase inclusivity for students within the LGBTQ+ community, whether it be increased bathroom accessibility or issue awareness.
“I’m here to ensure that us LGBTQ-plus kids have a seat at the governance here in BCPS,” Thomas said to his fellow board members. “To provide a perspective of what it’s like to be a gay student in BCPS. What it’s like to face the brunt of bullying in elementary school for being more feminine, at times. To talk about myself and students like me who have been targeted by homophobic and transphobic slurs, left and right.”
Thomas said he hopes that his membership on the school board this year will serve as a voice for the many students throughout the system who have often felt excluded.
“We all face microaggressions for simply living as our authentic selves,” he said. “To show students like me that we have a voice. We can speak our truth, and that we will be heard on this board and throughout our lives. I am here today and will be here tomorrow and for the rest of this year, to give us a voice.”
While the majority of the board supported the resolution, which was seconded by Erin Hager, a member at large, a few members were hesitant.
Board member Lily Rowe, District 4, said she supports the board’s current equity policy and that members of the LGBTQ+ community shouldn’t be discriminated against, but she said she didn’t agree with all aspects of the resolution, which she voted against.
She specifically cited concerns about the section of the resolution that mentions conversations surrounding male and female sexual orientation, saying that parents have the right to opt-out of those conversations when discussed in a traditional health class setting.
She also took issue with the mentions of students having the right to be addressed by their preferred pronouns and said “…there is currently no legal right for students to be addressed by particular pronouns.”
The board’s current equity policy, which was adopted in 2014, states that the board is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive environment for all students. It also calls disparities based on race, gender identity and sexual orientation “unacceptable.”
Rowe also expressed concerns about the possibility of students being able to choose which bathroom they utilize.
“I also don’t agree that my 10-year-old girl should have to share a bathroom with a penis,” Rowe said during the meeting. “I just can’t…And for those specific reasons, I cannot support this.”
In response, Thomas said Rowe misinterpreted the language of the resolution. He explained that his proposal isn’t mandating anything specific, but says the board is simply stating that it supports the right of students to express their gender identity and any measures made to achieve that.
“This resolution here isn’t mandating [gender neutral bathrooms],” Thomas said. “It’s saying that the board supports that students have the right to have accommodations met for their gender identity, and it’s saying that the board supports the gender expression of students. And I find your comment about the penis to be just very ignorant.”
Board member Kathleen Causey, District 3, expressed hesitations towards the resolution and abstained from the vote, alongside at large member Russel Kuehn.
Both said they did not have time to review the measure, which Thomas submitted on Tuesday.
Kuehn cited the board’s current equity policy and said it already addresses the needs of the community.
But Thomas disagreed.
“When we talk about the importance of understanding diversity and including individuals, we don’t ever include LGBTQ+ kids,” Thomas said. “I haven’t been included. And so that’s where this resolution comes in, titled LGBTQ+ Inclusivity. Simply putting some accountability on the board of education and on BCPS, to make sure that we are including LGBTQ+ kids in our decisions, and not just stating that we will, but actually doing it.”