LGBTQ+ advocacy groups unite to oppose school district policies on the Don’t Say Gay law

The law implemented in August has fostered an unwelcome educational environment for LGBTQ+ students.

Three LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations in western North Carolina have launched the initial phase of their campaign to challenge the state’s discriminatory Don’t Say Gay law.

The Campaign for Southern Equality, Youth OUTright WNC, and PFLAG Asheville have united to contest Buncombe County School District’s policies following the passage of SB49 in August. This legislation was enacted after North Carolina Republicans successfully overrode a veto by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.

The Don’t Say Gay legislation, also recognized as the Parent’s Bill of Rights, prohibits teaching about “gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality” in kindergarten through fourth grade. It also mandates informing parents “prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school records or by school personnel,” with certain allowances given to school administrators.

The law took effect immediately upon passage, and in the months following, school districts statewide have been wrestling with its implementation.

In a complaint submitted to the Title IX Coordinator for Buncombe County Schools, the three organizations assert that SB49 infringes upon the education provisions outlined in Title IX.

“The policies enacted by the Buncombe County Board of Education in adherence to the state law SB49 (commonly referred to as the ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ’ law and the ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’) establish an unwelcoming educational atmosphere for LGBTQIA+ students, families, staff, and faculty,” states the complaint, “thereby contravening Title IX and the obligation of Buncombe County Schools to furnish each student with a secure and non-discriminatory school environment.”

The complaint references Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funding, encompassing discrimination related to sexual orientation or gender identity.

In October, the Campaign for Southern Equality raised their Title IX concerns with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The response received stated, “Absent a determination by USED Office of Civil Rights or a court order affirming your position, neither the State Board nor DPI can knowingly fail to comply with a duly enacted state law.”

The groups’ strategy shifted towards obtaining a determination from a local official responsible for enforcing Title IX. In Buncombe County, this role is held by Shanon Martin, the Title IX Coordinator for Buncombe County Schools.

“We request that, if these Title IX violation allegations are confirmed, the Title IX Coordinator for Buncombe County Schools instruct the Superintendent to postpone the implementation of all SB49-related policies passed on December 7, 2023, until the federal complaint against DPI and SBE has been resolved,” the complaint to Martin reads.

Craig White, the supportive schools director at Campaign For Southern Equality, informed Blue Ridge Public Radio that his team anticipates filing a federal complaint in January.

Rob Elliot, chairman of the policy committee for the Buncombe County Board of Education, described the process of determining how to enforce SB49 as “very stressful” and a “noisy, big, complex legal discussion.”

“We don’t exist just under the confines of this one new law,” Elliot said. “This doesn’t define our entire world. We exist under a whole universe of federal law and state law, all of which we have to abide by as well.”