Texas charter school requires boys be boys, girls be girls, in its two renowned choirs

A Fort Worth public charter school has banned boys from the girls’ choir, and vice versa.

The Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts voted 4-2 recently to require unaltered birth certificates proving biological sex before joining either the Singing Girls of Texas Choir or Texas Boys Choir, both of which are renowned in Texas and beyond.

The alteration to both choirs’ handbooks sparked three hours of public comment June 27 prior to a closed-session board meeting.

Parents and conservative supporters voiced their opinions with signs that read “Leave our children alone,” “Boys ≠ Girls” and “Biology, not Ideology.” Opponents wore black T-shirts and Pride gear, carrying signs reading “Let them sing,” and “Choir is for all.”

According to the Fort Worth Report, while more than 50 people spoke at the meeting, only about half had direct ties to the choir. Many speakers signed up on the roster as concerned citizens or community members.

“Sadly, the outcome of tonight’s decision will likely result in the departure of families on one side or the other,” lamented Todd Prickett, artistic director of the Texas Boys Choir.

The school’s handbook also was modified to define “boy” and “girl” based on the child’s birth certificate.

The motion was supported by board members Cheryl Prince Bean, Melissa Goodroe, Mary A. Zimmerman and Daniel Bates, with board members Charles Reid and Leslie Scott opposed.

In a statement from Citizens Defending Freedom-Tarrant County, Executive Director Kenya Ayoub Alu celebrated the “great win for kids and parents in Tarrant County.”

“To us, it is absurd that we even have to have this debate, but as long as the liberal activists keep pushing their agenda, we will keep fighting back.”