F. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

S U N P R A I R I E A R E A S C H O O L D I S T R I C T E Q U I T Y E V A L U A T I O N I N T E G R A T E D C O M P R E H E N S I V E S Y S T EM S F O R E Q U I T Y

Student enrollment forms on Infinite Campus allow for multiple caregivers to have gendered and non-gendered designations. Caregivers, however, are required to select a binary gender (male or female) for their student as Infinite Campus does not allow additional options. The SPASD Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Procedures include the District’s bathroom policy in which students may use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify.

The District expects all staff to be supportive of LGBTQIA+ staff, students, and families and this expectation is included in the District’s equity statement and within a school board proclamation. Regarding invitations to school functions, staff gatherings and related events, the District does not use the language of Mother/Father, Mr./Mrs. and instead refers to guardian/caregiver/family of (student). However, some schools within the District have continued to use gendered language and to provide invitations for related events, such as: “watch dog dads”, “muffins with mom”, and “donuts with dads”. The District and principals are working to eliminate gendered events.

The District relies on the nationally recognized, valid, and reliable Dane County Youth Assessment for grades 7-12 that includes collecting data from students about the extent to which they are teased/bullied or harassed. However, despite the District’s efforts, this assessment revealed that 35% of students within the District, within this grade range, report having experienced harassment or bullying related to being or perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The District has revised their dress code policies to eliminate culturally insensitive and gendered language, however the District’s music program continues to require stereotypical gendered concert dress requirements.

As to the extent to which the District’s curriculum integrates LGBTQIA+ history, events, or people, the District reports that through the previously mentioned professional learning, staff are expected to integrate gender inclusivity and anti-bullying practices into curriculum and instruction and that the District can provide specific examples across the District. However, the District reports that more can be done to ensure that this is consistent throughout the District.

In terms of including a range of identities and their intersections, participants reported, the District does not have a routine practice of including sexual orientation and gender identity when presenting identities to be addressed in the District.

Within the District, there is a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) at the high school and at each of the middle schools. The high school’s GSA includes 12-17 regular student members annually. The group meets for one hour per week and attends a quarterly Wisconsin GSA meeting, and a monthly 30-minute student leadership meeting.

The District conducted a comprehensive Title Wise Diversity Analysis of each school’s library/media holdings in August of 2021. Many of the diverse family books at the elementary

S U N P R A I R I E A R E A S C H O O L D I S T R I C T E Q U I T Y E V A L U A T I O N I N T E G R A T E D C O M P R E H E N S I V E S Y S T EM S F O R E Q U I T Y

level were inclusive of LGBTQIA+ and gender identities. The certified media specialists of the District strive to accurately represent each of the students and their families within the library collections. Through the use of literature review tools, as well as student and staff recommendations, the District is slowly but steadily growing their selection of high-quality titles that represent the different experiences and intersectionalities of the LGBTQIA+ community within the District and community.

III. Sun Prairie Area School District Equity Focus Group and Related Equity Audit Data by Strengths and Growth Themes

We conducted over 93 focus groups. Each focus group had an average of 4 participants. Over all the focus groups there were a total of 372 participants, comprised of student service providers, general educators, principals, students, District Office administrators, board members, and community members. Some focus group participants requested individual interviews and therefore we also conducted over 10 individual interviews either by phone or Zoom, following the focus groups.

We asked the following questions during the focus groups and individual interviews:

1. What is working well in the District for every student? 2. What could be improved in the District for every student? 3. When you think about the current structure for educating students with disabilities, what are the challenges to that structure? 4. When you think about the current structure for educating students labeled as ELL, what are the challenges to that structure? 5. When you think about the current structure for educating students labeled as advanced learners, what are the challenges to that structure? 6. What does staff collaboration look like at the school? 7. What District policies support the achievement of all students in the District? 8. What District policies can get in the way of all students achieving in the District? 9. What do you wish the District would get right?

Focus groups are particularly effective in obtaining a breadth of information relative to a specific issue,1 enabling participants to express themselves in an open and flexible process.2 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and state and CDC guidelines, we conducted the focus groups via a video call Zoom meetings. When requested, we also conducted individual interviews. We did not record the focus groups or individual interviews and instead took detailed notes. We followed

1 Madriz, E. (2000). Focus groups in feminist research. In N. Y. Denzin, & Y. Lincoln (Eds.) Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 835–850). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. McLeskey J., & Waldron, N. L. (2000). Inclusive schools in action: Making differences ordinary. Alexandria, VA: Association for Curriculum Development. 2 Krueger, R.A., & Casey, M. A. (2000). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications