DCCCD Passes Trans Inclusive Policy!

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.

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DCCCD Policy Vote Today

With the new year comes the first news about an effort to advance human rights for the rainbow community of Texas.

Up I-45 from me the Dallas County Community College District board will hold their meeting today.  On the agenda will be the expansion of DCCCD nondiscrimination policies that cover employees and two student ones to include gender identity and gender expression.

DCCCD is seeking to join San Jacinto Community College and the Houston Community College District as Lone Star State institutions that have similar gender identity and expression language in their nondiscrimination policies.
  
The proposed policy expansion will come up for a board vote at this meeting and the good folks up there in the Metroplex would like to fill the room with supportive people not only willing to speak affirmatively for it but also wear pink to indicate they are in favor of the policy change.  

If you can be there or have time in your busy lives to do so the DCCCD administration building is located at 1601 South Lamar St.   It is south of Downtown Dallas and near both South Side on Lamar and the Dallas PD HQ.  The Cedars DART Rail station on the DART Rail Red and Blue lines is a few blocks away and the DART 26 bus line runs by it with service to and from the nearby DART Rail Cedars station. 

There is a free parking lot across the street from the DCCCD headquarters building, so if you can make it please show up at the DCCCD board meeting in pink and support what we hope will be the first policy victory in the nation for 2012

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HCC Board Unanimously Passes Trans Protections

The Houston Community College Board of Trustees according to a report in Houstini.com unanimously voted to add gender identity and expression to the college's system wide non-discrimination policy

The trans protections were considered as part of a package of non-controversial policy proposals voted on during last week's HCC Board of Trustees meeting.

HCC joins the San Jacinto Community College System as the second Houston area community college system that amended its non discrimination policy to protect its trans students

The Dallas County Community College District is scheduling a meeting in January to vote on an amendment to its non discrimination policy.  
 

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