An LGBTQ program that partnered Dallas Independent School Districts (ISD) teachers with a local transgender care-providing clinic was never approved by Dallas ISD officials, documents obtained in a public records request by the Dallas Express showed.
The Out for Safe Schools program reportedly partnered the district with a transgender-affirming clinic called the Resource Center, which allegedly provides transgender patients with hormones. The program educated teachers on how they could be “allies” to the LGBTQ cause, according to the outlet.
This partnership agreement was allegedly signed by the Resource Center, but not by any Dallas ISD officials, according to the Dallas Express.
“The department said there was no executed agreement,” JoAnna Talley, public information coordinator for Dallas ISD, told the Dallas Express.
Despite this apparent lack of support on behalf of the district, the program was reportedly operating anyway, the outlet reported. Further documents obtained by the Dallas Express allegedly show that the program was struggling to recruit teachers.
“Update. We still only have one person signed up for today,” Mahoganie Gaston, the LGBTQ youth support services coordinator for Dallas ISD, said in an April 2021 email, according to the outlet.
“Ok. Let’s go ahead and cancel today & ask today’s participant to attend in May. Hopefully, the trustees can push out the training in the areas they represent & attendance will be higher for the final two sessions,” Rafael McDonnell, an employee of the Resource Center, responded, according to the outlet. (RELATED: ‘Criminal’: Legal, Parental Advocates Sound Alarm On Blue State Bill Allowing Minors To Consent To Medical Procedures)
Mentions of the Out for Safe Schools program were allegedly taken off the websites of Dallas ISD and the Resource Center after the Dallas Express exposed the program previously, according to the outlet.
There is still time to register for tomorrow’s training! Email mgaston@dallasisd.org ! pic.twitter.com/8GWWJnWasu
— Dallas ISD Support Services for LGBTQ Youth (@DallasISDLGBTQY) May 21, 2020
The Dallas ISD LQBTQ support center did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
Recently, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office permitted Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to refuse to hand over documents in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) pertaining to the $90,000 they paid to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago since 2021, as reported by the DCNF.
The payment was reportedly for a series of training sessions from the hospital’s Sexuality Education Program, which includes “age-appropriate” lessons on anal sex and “gender-affirming” sexual communication, according to the hospital’s website. The denial was made on the grounds that Illinois law protects “course materials” from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, according to the DCNF.