From Matt Edwards of Citizens Alliance of Idaho
"Non-Public Internal Document reveals CDA Schools District 271, Coeur d' Alene, does in fact have Transgender Student Guidelines that allow biological males to compete in female sports, requires staff to use chosen pronouns, and prevents staff from discussing issue w/ parents.
In January, outrage erupted in Caldwell, ID as the school district there was considering adopting the infamous and controversial "Policy 3281" dealing with Student Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation. However, even earlier, during the horrific events in Loudoun County, VA concerned parents and community members in Coeur d' Alene wondered if such a transgender policy existed in the Coeur d' Alene school district in an effort to prevent a tragedy here.
Since then a group of concerned parents have been diligent in keeping tabs on what is/isn't allowed with regard to this issue in the CdA School District. Combing through district policies and handbooks online, coming up empty when searching for anything gender identity related. The community was somewhat put at ease when nobody could identify a policy that dealt with transgender issues one way or another. But, knowing that certain Idaho districts were popping up on the radar, we remained cautious and alert.
Emails obtained through a records request, showed one dated 8/25/22 from the Superintendent's exc. asst. asking the IDSBA for a model transgender policy. Presumably so the district could consider it for adoption, just like in Caldwell. The IDSBA sent back Policy 3281.
But that's not what caught my eye. It was the admission from the Superintendent's office that "We have guidelines but..." Guidelines? What are those? Are those different from policies?
Apparently so, one difference appears to be Policies are public, and Guidelines are not. Attached here are the "Transgender Student Guidelines for Administrator Reference" that CDA Schools has been using. And they have been on the books since July 7, 2014.
Comparing this 2014 document to the 2022 IDSBA Policy 3281, they are strikingly similar. Participation in gender segregated activities (e.g. sports), staff instructed to utilize name and pronouns, keeping info from parents, even student ID consistent with chosen identity. Due to how much the LGBT demands change with lightening speed, the restroom/locker room policy went from accommodating trans students with private facilities in 2014, to full blown red carpet into the opposite sex's facilities in 2022. Proof of the slippery slope.
The main headline here is this, Parents with concern over policies such as 3281, have assumed that since it wasn't in place in CdA, & there was no talk of installing it, that they need not worry about it. Coeur d' Alene was safe. Instead...
With these similar guidelines existing - for almost 9 years - means that parents were denied informed consent even after asking about it for years. Parents were not aware that their children were attending school under these guidelines, because they aren't publicly available.
This is a serious issue, because for 9 years, diligent parents who did basic research of the school district on their website as they vetted where their child would be attending school, would never have come across these guidelines. In fact... Current and past Coeur d' Alene Board members I spoke with told me they didn't know that "guidelines" were something that the district had, that weren't a part of existing policy that is readily available. What other guidelines does the district operate under that isn't public?
Some quick history on where these guidelines came from: In 2014, the school board was mired in controversy as they attempted to "#AddTheWords." A decade long campaign of the LGBT crowd to seek protections for gender identity and sexual orientation in the human rights act. During the April 2014 monthly meeting, hundreds of people showed up to the meeting and dozens spoke during a 2-hour marathon of public comment. The entire meeting lasted over 5 hours with the board ultimately tabling the issue.
Three months later, 7/7/14, the Transgender Student Guidelines were slipped in among a laundry list of other actual policy items that were passed by the board 5-0 in single vote. There were not looked at one-by-one. Note that the guidelines do not contain a policy number.
I spoke with a former board member who was on the board that approved the guidelines in 2014, and they said they never knew those guidelines were there. They were shocked to learn this happened. The current board has it within their power to now do something about it. I spoke with a current board member who not only reiterated that "guidelines" were something they weren't aware of, but will now be looking to draft a policy that can address this issue and be in line with protecting students.
We can not afford to adopt policies that enable potential mentally unstable predators to take advantage of these rules in order to harm other students by disguising themselves as female. Including preventing staff from being transparent with concerned parents. CdA is not immune. We should also not be destroying the dreams and ambitions of young female athletes by allowing biological males to dominate female competitive sports. This is a national issue that must be dealt with. I finally do see the War On Women.
Please visit Kootenai County Spectator where my compadre Erin has published the files and a timeline of events. Please support CDA School Board Trustees as they work to make the necessary corrections. FTR, none of the existing board members were members in 2014.
The real villains in all of this are those working at the Idaho School Board Association. They are full blown leftist activists who have been working behind the scenes to push our public school system towards adopting woke and dangerous policies. Another swamp that needs draining. On a personal note: Our girls and boys deserve better. Please pray to God we can help deliver them from evil. As for children who truly suffer from gender dysphoria, there needs to be more attention paid to treating this illness, and not through hormone therapy and surgery.
But through actual mental wellness treatment that encourages the suffer to embrace who they are and the body that God blessed them with. I am not psychologist, but I am a parent with children that I love and encourage to be grateful for how they were made."
VOTE NO on the CDA Levies on March 14th. They have been lying since 2014.
