The Augusta Board of Education on Wednesday approved new Title IX guidelines, despite a federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the implementation of the new rules. Cony Middle and High School in Augusta, above, is named in the lawsuit, which comes from the national organization Moms for Liberty. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

AUGUSTA — The Augusta Board of Education on Wednesday passed updated policies regarding gender discrimination, despite the threat of federal lawsuit by a national political organization.

The updated Title IX procedures are at the center of a federal lawsuit filed by the Kansas-based political organization Moms for Liberty. The lawsuit places a federal injunction on several schools across the country where group members have students, including Cony Middle and High School.

Title IX ensures an education environment that is free from discrimination of sex or race. Under the new guidelines introduced Aug. 1, Title IX includes protection for transgender, or gender nonconforming, students in any education program that receives federal funding. School districts across the state and country have started to adopt the changed Title IX policy.

Also, in Maine, students are protected by the state Human Rights Act, which ensures similar rights under state law. Officials say that makes it OK for schools to adopt the new guidelines, regardless of the federal injunction.

But the injunction has created confusion for school officials who want to both adopt the updated policies and avoid a federal lawsuit from the political organization.

The updated policies passed in Augusta by a 7-2 vote at Wednesday night’s board meeting, with the two dissenting members saying they are concerned about a lawsuit.

Kati McCormick voted against adopting the policies to avoid legal fees, as did James Orr, who said that he wished the board wrote an exception into the policies for the schools affected by the federal injunction.

“If we pass this, and get sued, we get legal fees” McCormick said. “If we don’t pass this, and get sued, we still get legal fees. So to the point of the taxpayer and that point of view, I can see not wanting to incur more legal fees, especially with our current budget situation, and what we are trying to avoid is sinking into a bigger hole.”

The specific policies the board approved on a second reading are: harassment of students, harassment of employees, pregnant students and the first reading of procedures for a student and staff harassment and discrimination complaints and a student and employee sex discrimination complaints.

Before the board passed the updated policies, it heard from a few members of the public, including Allen Sarvinas, of the group Parents Rights in Education, and Wendy Lee MacDowell, an Augusta resident who is a part of Moms for Liberty, both of whom are against the updated Title IX policies and urged the school board to vote no.

Augusta is not the first central Maine school to encounter opposition to policies related to gender discrimination.

The political group Parents Rights in Education made Freedom of Access Act requests to Maine School Administrative District 11 in Gardiner about the district’s transgender student policy. And last week, Sarvinas spoke against the approval of a school-based health center during the MSAD 11 school board meeting. Those efforts are part of a trend as schools continue to see an uptick in people outside of the school districts attempting to influence policy.

Among the other central Maine schools named in the lawsuit are all three of the Winthrop public schools, Readfield Elementary School and Waterville Senior High School.

When Mike Tracy Jr., superintendent of Augusta Public Schools, was asked if the school district is starting to see an influx of emails, or FOAA requests, like the Gardiner schools, he said he did not want to “comment directly in relation” to the question because he does not wish “to add to the noise.”

“I got into the superintendency to influence the educational betterment on behalf of all of the learners in my care,” Tracy said. “Sometimes the noise that comes from partisan politics frankly gets in the way and holds hostage the hard work of our educators trying to simply teach children.

“Often FOAA requests, although legal and serve the general public, can contribute to these distractions that dilute the educational process. I find myself 100% in favor of parents’ rights, and 100% supportive of students’ rights.”

The school department has the authority to approve the policy, said Chloe Teboe, director of communications for the Maine Department of Education.

Teboe said the department has had a significant outreach from officials in education about what the injunction means. Though Cony Middle and High School is included in the injunction, it does not apply to Cony directly.

“It only applies to the federal government,” Teboe said. “In other words, the injunction says that the federal government cannot enforce an application of Title IX by Cony; but the injunction does not say that the Augusta School Department cannot enforce Title IX in its local schools.

“This injunction only limits the powers of the federal government and prevents the federal government from forcing Cony to follow new Title IX changes. This injunction has no legal power over state law or local school board policy.”