There's good news to report out of Dallas this evening concerning the proposed expansion of DCCCD nondiscrimination policy. The Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees at this afternoon's board meeting passed on a 4-1 vote the expansion of DCCCD policy for students and employees with the inclusion of gender identity and expression language.The new language that modifies one employee and two student nondiscrimination policies will take effect March 1 and they join the Houston area's San Jacinto Community College System and the Houston Community College System in doing so. The Dallas County Community College District is one of the largest community college districts in the state of Texas with over 85,000 students and 25,000 enrolled in continuing education courses. There were two trustees absent from this meeting and the lone NO vote came from District 4 trustee Bill Metzger. In case you peeps in the Metroplex are wondering when you'll get your chance to show your displeasure with his vote on this issue at the ballot box, unfortunately you'll have to wait until 2016 to do so. Trustee Diana Flores told the Dallas Voice that the calls and letters to the Board of Trustees received in favor of this policy expansion are what made the difference in terms of the successful vote in enacting this positive human rights advance.So for those of you who called, wrote, spoke in front of the Board of Trustees or showed up at DCCCD headquarters wearing pink clothing in solidarity of this policy change, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to do so and give yourself a well deserved pat on the back. You can bet the eyes of the DFW Metroplex and the rest of the Lone Star State will be on the Dallas County Community College District to ensure the policy the Board of Trustees voted affirmatively on is implemented as expeditiously as possible at all of its campuses. A human rights expansion sure is a nice way to get 2012 started.
