ALEX HOBEN
editor-in-chief
alexandra.hoben@my.tccd.edu

TCC’s board of trustees approved of a change to the college’s Title IX policy, and were given various presentations in the recent board meeting.

During April’s meeting, the board discussed and approved a cumulative $2 million dollars spent for the acquisition and installation of new furniture for the SE Campus. There was also a presentation regarding the Marketing, Communication and Public Relations department given by Reginald Gates, the Vice Chancellor of Communications and External Affairs.

Everything on the consent agenda was passed, but there was a discussion held for item 4b, regarding an update to the Title IX statutes of DIAA, FFDA and FFDB. 

“The changes in policy that the staff is asking the board to consider deal with our existing Title IX policies,” Carol Bracken, general counsel for the board of trustees said. “The policies we have in place were passed in 2020 in connection with changes that were made by the Department of Education at that time.”

The main change will be a move from the original Association of Title IX Administrators  model policies and will now be moved back to the Texas Association of School Boards model. This change, Bracken said, will make it so when the Department of Education adds new policies for Title IX, the change will not be so drastic.

“If our policies are in line with TASB’s, it will make it much easier to conform our Title IX policies when TASB’s updates the policies,” she said.

Trustee Shannon Wood motioned to have 4b removed from the agenda and moved to be considered in September due to a recent bill that passed through the Texas Senate, Bill 17.

“This will be a moot point come September, so I just see extra work for our faculty and staff to do all this work and then it’s going to be changed in September,” Wood said.

The bill includes a ban on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices from being present in Texas’ higher education institutions. Bracken said that while she has read the bill, it mainly dealt in the DEI initiatives of colleges and universities rather than Title IX.

“[Senate bill 17] does not, however, deal with the sexual crimes and offenses that are dealt with with Title IX such as sexual assault, stalking, sexual discrimination,” she said.

Bracken is anticipating having to come to the board again soon with updates to these and other policies if and when they are passed through the Texas House of Representatives.

In other board news the meeting also included student highlights, where a TCC student or community member attends the meeting and shares their experiences. Three students were featured, NE student Jordin Bryan, Connect student Daniel Sanni and SE student Mohamed Yahia. The stories were not without a few tear-jerking moments.

When trustee Bill Greenhill read Bryan’s experience of how she had started and stopped college three times over 15 years, and finally was able to pass past her first semester without dropping out at TCC, Bryan started to tear up at the podium.

“I owe a lot to this school and the people that work here,” Bryan said while wiping tears as she addressed the board. “I owe a lot to the programs, and the advisors, to my boss, to VP [NE vice president of student affairs Terese Tann] Craig and I just really appreciate what y’all do for us, thank you.”