ALPENA — The Alpena Public Schools Board of Education last week voted to change the language in the gender identity section of the student rights and responsibilities portion of the district’s Student Code of Conduct.

The change was made to make clear that the right of students to be identified by the gender they prefer is mandated by the state.

“We just added that direction comes from the state of Michigan,” APS Superintendent David Rabbideau said. “The letter of the law stayed the same. It was just a clarification that it is the state of Michigan that provides that guidance.”

The original passage came from the rights section under gender identity and read as follows: “Students have the right to be identified by their name, pronoun, and asserted gender in school records, learning spaces, facilities, and extracurricular activities consistent with State Board Education Guidance for LGBTQ.”

The updated passage in the code of conduct now reads as follows: “The State of Michigan currently mandates that students have the right to be identified by their name, pronoun, and asserted gender in school records, learning spaces, facilities, and extracurricular activities consistent with State Board of Education Guidance for LGBTQ.”

During a board meeting in July, some board members believed that the language as written didn’t make it clear that those rights were mandated by the state. The board ultimately decided to table the discussion until a meeting that took place last Monday.

During that meeting, the board agreed to new language that provided more clarity while still properly informing students of their rights, according to APS board President Anna Meinhardt.

“The board had a great, great discussion,” Meinhardt said. “We all worked together well to make sure all sides were addressed.”

In other business

The Alpena Public Schools Board of Education last Monday also:

∫ adopted the online course catalog of board-approved courses for 2023-24. The courses are provided on the APS website.

∫ agreed to pay no more than $5,163.75 to Denny’s Painting and Drywall Inc. for the cabinet wall insulation, drywall, and backing work at Besser Elementary School. The project was originally set to be $13,578.25, but it was discovered as renovations were ongoing that it would actually cost $18.742. APS was credited with payment for the original cost so it only needed to pay for the difference.