Rochester teachers union speaks in support of the school district's LGBTQ+ guidelines

Apr. 23—ROCHESTER — Following criticism of Rochester Public Schools' guidelines regarding LGBTQ+ students by a school counselor, the district's teachers union has taken a stand in support of the guidelines.

Vince Wagner, president of the Rochester Education Association, read a statement about the topic during the School Board meeting on Tuesday, April 23.

"These guidelines are compassionate, they are just, and they follow the best practices of many of our governing organizations, including the National Education Association and the American School Counselor Association," Wagner read from a prepared statement.

In 2023, the administration of RPS drafted a list of guidelines titled "Rochester Public Schools administrative guidelines for supporting transgender and gender expansive students." The document provides guidance on topics related to issues such as students' involvement in sports and bathroom usage.

Superintendent Kent Pekel has said multiple times the document was written in coordination with the district's legal counsel and that it was based on established legal precedent.

Nonetheless, the document has spurred a wave of debate about the inclusion of transgender and gender-expansive students in the district's schools.

Even though

the document clarified

that schools must provide information to parents about their children if they ask for it, the district received criticism for not preemptively providing that information to parents. During a board meeting on March 19, school counselor Christina Barton spoke out against the district's guidelines.

"How would a parent know to request such information if they aren't aware their child is struggling with gender dysphoria?" Barton said at the time. "How would a parent be able to care for and support their student if the school never reached out to them?"

Following Barton's comments, a number of community members came to a following board meeting on April 10, both

supporting and criticizing the district's guidelines.

One speaker referred to the district's document as "unethical." Meanwhile, another speaker referred to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual as a way of supporting the district's guidelines.

Wagner's statement on Tuesday was tailored in response to Barton's original statement. Though it did not name her, it referenced the elementary school where Barton works. He said, in part, that members of the Rochester Education Association "know that our professional obligation is to our students and we put the needs of our students first."

Wagner told the Post Bulletin that the executive board of teachers union considered a number of possible responses to Barton's statement. He said the union's bylaws allow for the censure, suspension and expulsion of members, and that the union "reserves the right" to pursue any of those additional actions.

"It is this commitment that makes us professional educators, which is why it is mandated by our own code of ethics, a code which our members are each expected to follow," Wagner said in his statement to the board. "Members who choose not to adhere to our code of ethics have no place in the Rochester Education Association."

Following her remarks to the school board on March 19, Barton went on to give an interview with the media outlet Alpha News. In her comments to both the news outlet and the school board, Barton alluded to the fact that she had been advised not to speak against the district's guidelines.

Wagner wasn't the only person to speak at the most recent school board meeting on Tuesday. A community member, Ray Hicks, took a different tone than that of the teachers union.

"We know of other RPS employees who have problems with district practices," Hicks said. "Most don't speak up for fear of being ostracized or losing employment. They're in the closet. This isn't diverse, inclusive, or equitable."