RALEIGH — A collection of LGBT activist groups in the western part of North Carolina intends to file a federal Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) over the new Parents’ Bill of Rights law per a letter sent the Title IX director for Buncombe County Public Schools.
The Parents’ Bill of Rights (Senate Bill 49) codifies a list of rights for parents related to the education and upbringing of their children, increases transparency in curriculum and surveys, creates a grievance process for parents, and bars the teaching of sexual topic and gender ideology to young children in grades K-4. The majority of the provisions in the new law went into effect Aug. 15.
The letter was issued on Dec. 12 by Craig White, Supportive Schools Director for the Campaign for Southern Equality; Adrian Parra, Executive Director of Youth OUTright WNC; and Daniel Baker, President of PFLAG Asheville.
“We allege that the policies passed by the Buncombe County Board of Education to comply with the state law SB49 (alternately called the ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ’ law and the ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’) create a hostile educational environment for LGBTQIA+ students, families, staff and faculty, and in doing so violate Title IX and Buncombe County Schools’ obligation to provide every student with a safe and non-discriminatory school environment,” the letter states.
The letter does not spell out specific policy changes that the groups object to beyond saying the changes ” violate Title IX and Buncombe County Schools’ obligation to provide every student with a safe and non-discriminatory school environment.”
The complaint also says commentary about the new law and policies that take a different position than that of the complaint filers as “evidence” of a hostile environment.
“We believe that our neighbors who have spoken in favor of these policies have made it clear that they do not understand LGBTQIA+ identities, believe and promote several negative stereotypes about LGBTQIA+ people, and frequently bear some animosity against us,” the trio of groups said in the letter. “We submit that the substance and tone of their communications is evidence of the hostile environment that many students, staff, and faculty face at school and in the community (and frequently at home as well).”
Later in the letter, the groups imply that the public testimony they perceive as “hostile” means more “training and support” and “collaboration” in LGBT issues are needed and goes on to compare gender support guidelines to the N.C. Holocaust Education Act and fighting anti-semitism.
“There is precedent for this remedy at BCS in the working group that originally developed the BCS Gender Support Guidelines several years ago,” the letter states. “There is precedent at the state level in the NC Holocaust Education Act, which mandates collaboration with the N.C. Council on the Holocaust, the US National Holocaust Museum, and other partners in providing education and addressing anti-semitism in North Carolina schools.”
The letter says the groups inquired with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction about whether or not Session Law violates Title IX and were told that “Absent a determination by USED Office of Civil Rights or a court order affirming your position,” the state will follow the law. In response to that answer, the groups say they will file their federal Title IX complaint in January.
The groups ask for implementation to be delayed for the changes to district policies made on Dec. 7, 2023, until any federal complaint is resolved.
Over the past year, activist groups have used Title IV complaints in an attempt to upend decisions by school districts to remove books containing sexually explicit scenes and pornographic images from school libraries.
Catherine Lhamon, OCR’s Assistant Secretary, has been leading Title IV challenge efforts related to book challenges.
During a July 2023 U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) event titled “Free To Learn: Inclusion, Rights, and Accommodations for Students of All Faiths and None Conference Resources,” Lhamon discussed OCR’s commitment to enforcing its authority over school districts attempting to remove objectionable books by withholding federal funds.
Joining Lhamon were U.S. DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke and USDOE Senior Advisor LaWanda Toney.
Lhamon mentioned a recent resolution agreement with a school district regarding the removal of books and stated that OCR is actively investigating similar cases. She emphasized that book removals can create a “hostile environment” for students and asserted OCR’s jurisdiction to address such issues based on protected characteristics like religion, race, national origin, shared ancestry, sex, or disability.
Lhamon clarified that OCR initiates investigations to assess the existence of a hostile environment and, if negotiations fail, is prepared to withhold federal funds from non-compliant districts violating the law.
