Keller ISD Approves Measure to Ban Books on ‘Gender Fluidity'

The Keller Independent School District Board Trustees approved a measure prohibiting library books across all schools that include the topic of gender fluidity on Tuesday.

Officials also discussed but did not vote on a measure that would authorize teachers and employees to carry guns in the classroom.

With respect to firearms, the measure before the board would empower the Superintendent to approve teachers or district employees to carry a handgun on campus and at school-sponsored events.

"I worry about them every day we send them out the door but I don’t agree the answer is more guns there’s no way around the fact that more guns make us less safe," said Laney Hawes, a Keller ISD parent.

"You can run the numbers all day long if your children are in the room with a loaded gun, they are more likely to be shot by that gun," she said.

The proposal is specifically meant to “address concerns about the effective and timely response to emergency situations on district property, including invasion of a school by an armed outsider,” according to the agenda.

Properly approved personnel may be asked to complete additional training in “specialized crisis intervention, management of hostage situations, and other topics the board may determine necessary or appropriate.”

"We don’t want to send someone out there who’s first thing in gun over verbal judo," said Trevor Buker, who supports arming teachers. "The ultimate win is for the kids their safety and all that," he said.

Buker says it's impossible to leave protecting students in the hands of one person and he supports any action to arm teachers, retired military personnel, or anyone who can assist.

Rural districts in Texas have armed teachers for years, including Mineral Wells, which has signs posted in front the doors it's been more rare to see them in metro areas.

Another matter of concern before the board involves the district adding “discussion or depiction of gender fluidity” to a list of topics that would result in removal from school libraries.

"There’s not a question in the world that this is unconstitutional, hateful, and a violation of our students' civil rights," said Hawes. "What they’re doing is communicating to students that they shouldn’t exist and I can’t think of anything more terrifying than the people in charge don’t want you to exist and don’t want anyone to know about you."

Earlier this year, Keller ISD made news when it pulled more than three dozen books from library shelves, including the Bible and a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl.”

Another book that was pulled earlier this year was “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” which depicts its author’s story of finding their gender identity and exploring their sexual orientation.

The parents said the district like others backed by a conservative political action committee, tends to announce controversial sweeping changes on Friday evenings and call for votes the following Monday.

"We have multiple different political, cultural, religious ideologies and that’s great diversity makes us better, but it feels like only one side of those is what they want to hear and they dismiss everyone else," said Melissa Muenzler, a Keller ISD parent. "Most of my emails go unanswered and the transparency isn't there."

"They are creating these wildly political hyperpartisan policies and doing it in the dark of night and then just dropping it on us. And with a policy like giving teachers loaded guns, this is something that should have been brought to the community, we should have had massive surveys," said Hawes.