The department oversees more than 40 archdiocesan elementary schools and high schools, which educate more than 15,000 students and employ about 1,300 teachers, according to the archdiocese’s website. It supports the schools by “communicating, assessing, and reporting on matters of faith, Catholic identity, policy, and academic achievement between the archdiocese, [the department], and the schools.”
Markwell did not respond to follow-up questions about how the temporary closure will affect the way Catholic schools function or whether this was due to ongoing discussions about how to address gender ideology and the use of preferred pronouns within the Catholic schools.
In January, Sample published guidelines on how Catholics should handle gender ideology, which included recommendations on how schools should handle transgenderism and preferred pronouns that are inconsistent with a person’s biological sex. The guidelines led to a handful of principals and teachers resigning and protests from some parents and students.
The archbishop’s guidelines state that “Catholic institutions should not endorse gender identity theory nor enable any form of gender transition whether social or medical.”
The guidelines further recommend that “names, pronouns, facilities use, attire, and sports participation should depend upon biological sex identity rather than self-perceived gender identity.”
According to the guidelines, students should abide by dress codes that accord with their biological sex, locker rooms and restrooms should be organized in accordance with biological sex, formal documentation should use a student’s legal name and pronouns that align with his or her biological sex, and all education materials should align with Catholic teaching.
Credit: Source link
