JCPS Trans Inclusive Policy Passes First Stage Vote

When I left Louisville in May 2010 four days after my birthday to come back home, I had unfinished human rights business I was unhappy to leave undone.

That unfinished business was getting a nondiscrimination policy that included gender identity language for the Jefferson County Public Schools. 

In 2007 I was part of a coalition effort to get a comprehensive LGBT inclusive policy passed for JCPS..  Trans people were cut out of that policy in committee because of then Supt. Berman's lack of human rights vision.   I was highly pissed off about it at the time and almost dropped our of the effort at that point because I was upset about the trans community getting throw under the political bus again. 

After calming down and promises being made to me and the Louisville trans community that the Fairness led coalition would come back and fight for trans inclusion in the JCPS policy at another time, .I changed my mind and fought hard to get the JCPS trans free policy passed.. 

The trans free policy subsequently passed after three long and contentious public hearings on a 4-3 vote.

On Monday I was alerted by Dawn Wilson that the trans inclusion policy n JCPS I was fighting for passed its first stage JCPS board vote with a 5-2 margin.to take it to the second stage

Linda Duncan, just as in 2007  tried to use all the tools in her oppression handbook, but failed to slow down this policy what should have been adopted 8 years ago had Berman and the board listened to me and the coalition then..   Duncan along with board member Chuck Haddaway opposed it.

Rounds two and three are coming up, and I expect Frank Simon, Jerry Stephenson and the rest of the merry band of suburban haters will be loading up the buses to stick their nose in JCPS human rights business soon.