Canton School Committee nixes gender-specific events

The Canton School Committee has informed all CAPTs and schools across the district that it can no longer permit any gender-exclusive events, such as father-daughter or mother-son dances or sports tournaments.

The notice comes in light of a recent opinion by school Attorney Rebecca Bryant that gender-specific events go against federal law. She did allow for the continuation of the “Girls on the Run” groups, which are established in the elementary schools to encourage pre-teen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles.

School Committee Chairperson Kristin Mirliani said the district as a whole works hard for students to be allowed to participate in all events and they should not be divided by gender. She added that CAPT-sponsored events are still under the control of the School Committee.

Mirliani said the easy fix would be a name change to a more gender-neutral term such as “Someone Special.”

The issue was raised during the public comment period of the October 24 School Committee meeting. However, Mirliani said concerns first arose last spring and resurfaced as the JFK CAPT was planning for spring events for 2020.

Mirliani said she had heard that one girl was not allowed to participate in the JFK Mother-Son Cornhole Tournament. JFK parent Kendall O’Halloran, however, denied that any children were prohibited from participating and defended the CAPT events as time-held traditions. She said many JFK parents were upset by the committee’s decision.

Committee member Maureen Moran, who also serves as a parent volunteer on the Luce CAPT, said the organization changed the name of some of its events a few years ago to avoid gender-specific language. All five School Committee members backed Bryant’s opinion, including Mirliani and Reuki Schutt, who are both attorneys, as well as Moran, Nichola Gallagher and Kristian Merenda …

See this week’s Canton Citizen for more news from the Oct. 24 School Committee meeting. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

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Posted by Mike Berger on Nov 1 2019. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.