Families Need More Information on Austin ISD’s Decision That Boys and Girls Can’t Learn Together
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dione Friends, (713) 942-8146 x 110 or (832) 291-4816; [email protected]
HOUSTON – The ACLU of Texas has asked for more information about Austin ISD’s plans to separate boys and girls in two low-income schools. The Public Information Act request is prompted by the school district’s plan to segregate Pearce and Garcia middle schools by sex, which appears to be based on pseudo-science and would be imposed without parent choice.
Pearce and Garcia middle schools are low-performing schools that would become single-sex schools whether or not parents want this. In fact, polling by the district itself showed less than 50 percent support for the plan, according to a report by the Austin Chronicle in January 2013.
“Many students, of course, flourish in single-sex schools: Austin’s Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders is one well-known example. But research indicates that schools like this succeed because of engaged parents making choices for their children and a level of educational quality that is already high. Texas can’t afford for any of our students to be denied a good education because of bureaucrats or bad science,” said Terri Burke, Executive Director at the ACLU of Texas.
“The ACLU of Texas is concerned the district’s plans are based on pseudo-scientific claims about boys’ and girls’ brains,” said Adriana Pinon, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “We’re also worried that this scheme has been involuntarily foisted only on low-income families – even though there’s no data that coeducation is the problem at these schools. Above all, we share many parents’ concerns that these children may be deprived of their rights to equal learning opportunities.”
Information from ACLU’s nationwide investigation into single-sex education programs has demonstrated that many of these programs are rooted in archaic stereotypes. For example, teachers are routinely trained that boys should be allowed to move around the classroom during instruction, while girls should sit quietly; some encourage tailoring instructional materials and assignments toward stereotypical “boys’ interests” like sports and “girls’ interests” like sharing feelings; and some emphasize that instructors should speak to boys in a clear and assertive manner while smiling and speaking softly to girls. Public documents available to date suggest that the proposal in Austin may rest on the same flawed foundation—suggesting, for example, that the proposed schools will “maximize” girls’ and boys’ distinct “interests, strengths, and learning styles.”
Data from the Public Information Act request will shed light on AISD’s reasons for separating boys and girls in this Austin community. Read the open records request here.
