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First and foremost, I want to acknowledge that each of the school committee members are human beings. None of the sitting members claim to be infallible, or experts on every population within our district. That’s a good thing. Our school committee is composed of Sudbury residents who are passionate about supporting our students and families. They give up their weekends and evenings, time with their families, to serve in what is often a thankless and stressful elected position.
My open letter is meant in no way to shame anyone on the school committee. That being said, we need to talk as a community about implicit bias and what happened during the Monday, 2/10/25, school committee meeting.
During the open meeting on Monday, school committee member Karyn Jones was accused by the three members present at the meeting of having an inappropriate bias in favor of one perspective on the Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Student policy. For those that aren’t aware, gender identity is a protected class under Massachusetts state law. This is where we need to talk about implicit bias on the school committee.
School committee member Karyn Jones was accused of having a bias for supporting a protected class in Massachusetts, and was criticized for allegedly not working with opposing viewpoints.
Let’s do a thought experiment together. The following is a list of some of the other protected classes under state law. I want you to envision working on a policy to support that group. Ask yourself if you would feel it is appropriate to ask for opposing viewpoints.
Race
Religion
Sex
Disability
Source of Income (i.e. a Section 8 Voucher)
Sexual Orientation
Veteran or Active Military
If SPS was working on a non-discrimination policy to support our BIPOC students, can you imagine a school committee member insisting we consult white nationalist groups beforehand to make sure we are getting a balanced perspective on the issue?
If SPS wanted to develop a policy to support children with disabilities, would it be biased to consult with disability advocacy groups? Should the SPS school committee insist on seeking out feedback from community members that believe that supporting disabled children is unnecessary or unfair to able-bodied children?
When you read the above list of protected classes, which groups do you feel confident in your support of? Which groups’ rights do you affirm without hesitation? Are there groups you paused on? Are there groups you would feel unsure or nervous to vocalize your support for? This is an important, if uncomfortable, way for anyone to explore their own implicit biases.
Implicit bias is a collection of unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that influence how people think, feel and act. Everyone has implicit biases. They happen because our brains take mental shortcuts so they can process information quickly. Having an implicit bias does not make you a bad person, it makes you human, but if ignored, it can also lead to unfair treatment of others.
So what should we do when we realize we have an implicit bias? Explore it. Understand it. Think about how it impacts your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Start by listening to people from that community and advocating for what they need to achieve equality. At the very least, slow down before you react, to give yourself time to recognize when your implicit bias may be coloring your thoughts, and choose to reflect before acting.
Our school committee needs to consider how they responded to Member Jones’s approach to developing the Transgender and Nonconforming Student Policy and ask themselves if they are holding Gender Identity to a different standard than other protected classes. They are and it needs to stop. We need to act with more empathy and compassion for each other, both in the community and within the school committee. Nobody wins from the relentless attacking, especially not our most vulnerable students.
Asking elected officials to unpack their own bias in open meetings that are being live streamed is not a small ask. However, it’s entirely possible if you start from the common ground that we would all do anything in our power to protect our kids.
[Editor’s Note: Author’s name has been withheld at the Editor’s discretion.]