Mat-Su Borough school board approves controversial policy changes

PALMER, Alaska (KTUU) - Several changes to controversial school policies that have gained traction on a statewide and national level were passed Wednesday night at the Mat-Su School Board meeting.

The topics ranged from school counseling services to parent notification about the names and pronouns students use in school.

Except for one policy that was related to board self-evaluation, all of the board policy revisions ended up passing in a single vote of 6-1, with only board member Ted Swanson voting against the set of changes. The policy changes have the potential to impact students, teachers and parents throughout the district.

The policies that passed include:

• BP 6020 - A policy that involves parent engagement in school and requires parent permission before changing the name or pronoun used by a student at school.
• BP 6142.01 - A change that the board says “clarifies” the parent notification process, specifically for materials related to sex education.
• BP 6164.2 - Several adjustments to school counseling services regarding what is available and how it’s communicated to parents.
• BP 4055 - Adds the definition of activism for the political activities of employees, essentially forbidding school district employees from participating in any activism for controversial topics while on the job.

The policy changes drew extensive testimony, with many for and against them. The policy which involves parent engagement in school, requiring parent permission before changing the name or pronoun used by a student, drew staunch support and criticism.

”The requirement on parent permission before a name or pronoun is used by a student,” one concerned Mat-Su resident said. “If possible, I’d like to see the teachers not encouraging this, but maybe let the child know, wait until you’re an adult.”

Others had different opinions on how the issue should be handled.

”I can no longer work for a school district that will be putting LGBTQ lives at risk by requiring parental permission before pronouns can be changed,” one teacher who has worked 19 years in the district said. “We have youth in the Valley that have been kicked out of their homes.”

Another change — one the board says clarifies the parent notification process, specifically for materials related to sex education and adjustments to school counseling services regarding what is available and how the use is communicated with parents — also fueled a lot of testimony.

”Any adult, teacher, counselor, librarian, or school professional that thinks it’s okay to talk to them about sexual content or expose them to sexual material, without parental consent or knowledge, is wrong,” said Melissa Wilkins, a mom of three students in the district. “This is common sense and for all of the above-listed reasons, I support the board policy revisions.”

“My kid shouldn’t have to be the adult in the room,” said another parent in the room who said her child is a trans student. “We need you to be brave, and we need you to see harmful policy revisions. We need you to see them for what they are.”

Wednesday night was also the first reading of a board policy involving libraries and media centers, through which all materials depicting human sexuality would require parental consent before students have access to materials. It was a non-action item, but it is expected to be picked up at the next Mat-Su school board meeting on June 21.

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