A New Mexico elementary school principal almost took the Obama Administration’s transgender bathroom edict one step further, with a campaign to ban the words “boy” and “girl” in her elementary school.
Albuquerque Public Schools adopted the transgender bathroom policy last year, but teachers at Carlos Rey elementary received a letter from the school’s top administrator, Principal Judith Touloumis, titled “Gender Identity Procedural Directive.” It instructed them to “eliminate gender” in their classrooms.
“In other words, from August 8, 2016, our students at Carlos Rey will be collectively addressed as ‘students, Coyotes, engineers, scientists, mathematicians, etc.’ No longer will it be acceptable to call our students, ‘Boys and Girls.’ (A new paradigm shift).”
The directive came on the heels of a PowerPoint presentation Touloumis delivered at a “teacher in-service” presentation in July, which instructed teachers to alter their perception of gender. “Biological sex must be seen as a spectrum or range of possibilities rather than a binary set of only two options,” the slides said.
Teachers at the school didn’t receive specific instructions on how to implement the policy, though transgender students are required to register with school officials so that they may be able to use alternate gender bathrooms and locker rooms.
Parents, shocked by news of the expanded directive, weighed in at an Albuquerque Public Schools board meeting, calling the policy “outlandish” and asking the school to walk back the directive. Community activists in support of transgender rights lauded the policy, arguing that it could make children struggling with their sexuality more comfortable.
Before any official effort occurred, however, the Albuquerque Public School board addressed the situation, saying that Touloumis’ new policy, requiring gender-neutral classroom references, was a “complete mistake.”
Teachers at Carlos Rey told local media that they’ve been told by the school’s administrators that the original directive remains in place, but that they should apply it informally, which means they are still looking for other ways of addressing students without using gender-specific pronouns.
Touloumis did issue an apology for what she says was a “misunderstanding” of the new Obama Administration rules. She mentioned both the in-service presentation and the directive, saying she was sorry “to whomever was offended or made uncomfortable during the presentation.”
