14 May 23 - 29, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents SUMMER GUIDE ON STANDS JUNE 20 D SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO activities. A criminal predicate or public safety threat would be required for all uses. The department also says it won’t be used to identify people on live feeds or during live- streamed events. “We have to have a criminal offense before we start doing things,” Wil- liams said. There is also the worry that the use of this technology will lead to an over-reliance on video evidence. But, DPD says this shouldn’t be a problem because general or- ders make it clear that the technology is only one element of an investigation that must be used in conjunction with additional corrob- orating evidence. “This is not license plate readers for hu- mans,” he said. “This is not what this is. This is strictly based on a criminal offense having occurred.” Who Will Do it? A company called Clearview AI, an industry leader in the field of facial recognition, is be- ing looked at by the city to implement the fa- cial recognition technology. A quick search of the company turns up a few notable news stories about it. Some may sound flattering, others not so much. One TIME article called Clearview AI Ukraine’s secret weapon against Russia. But last year, the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog urged California’s attorney general to inves- tigate the company for allegedly selling im- ages to police departments without consent, saying the company’s facial recognition soft- ware “represents a clear and present danger to our societal norms and our privacy.” Also last year, New York Times tech re- porter Kashmir Hill told NPR the company could spell the end of privacy. Another story points out that police in Miami used Clear- view AI to identify a homeless man who re- fused to give his name. The man was arrested but charges were dropped because the officer lacked probable cause to make the arrest. Nevertheless, the company has achieved top ranking for accuracy in testing by the National Institute of Standards and Tech- nology. The company retains records of all searches. The Public Safety Committee approved the department’s use of the technology on May 13, making way for the police depart- ment to soon implement a general order and plan for its use by investigators and to facili- tate their training. Chief García seemed convinced this de- velopment is a positive one, telling the com- mittee: “I can tell you that it will be a game changer for our hard-working detectives to have this technology.” ▼ EDUCATION TITLES AND PRONOUNS LOCAL SCHOOLS NAVIGATE CONFLICTING TITLE IX GUIDANCE FROM BIDEN, ABBOTT. BY EMMA RUBY A s North Texas school districts and public universities break for the summer, administrators will need to decide whether to follow the U.S. Educa- tion Department’s Title IX expansion guide- lines that were released last month or ignore the rules at the behest of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott come fall. The new rules, which go into effect in August, include anti-discrimination protec- tions for students on the basis of sexual ori- entation and gender identity. Among the rules are provisions that would prevent schools from barring transgender students from using bathrooms or pronouns of the gender they identify with. Title IX was originally enacted in 1972 to prevent sex-based discrimination and sex- ual harassment in any federally funded K-12 school or public university. The law also of- fers students a federal recourse if they are the victim of a sex-based violation or crime. Shortly after the expanded Title IX guidelines were released, Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency to ignore the “illegal” mandate. Two weeks ago, Abbot sent a letter to every public university and community college in the state instructing them to “not comply” with the revisions. “I signed laws to ensure the safety of our students on campus and provide a process for adjudicating reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault with adequate due process for all parties involved, as well as laws to pro- tect the integrity of women’s sports by pro- hibiting men from competing against female athletes,” Abbott’s letter to the universities said. “I will not let President Biden erase the advancements Texas has made.” Texas is now one of 20 GOP-led states su- ing the Biden administration over the rules, which Abbott said were written “to protect men who identify as women.” The new Title IX rules do not address transgender stu- dents’ participation in sports. So far, school districts and public univer- sities across the state appear unsure of how to proceed with the new guidelines, and the Texas Education Agency has not released a response to Abbott’s direction. A spokesperson from Frisco ISD said the district “is committed to abiding by the law” and will implement the new Title IX regula- tions starting Aug. 1. A Grapevine-Collyville ISD spokesperson declined to comment, cit- ing “ongoing litigation.” A Dallas ISD spokes- person said the district remains committed to a 2017 resolution designating the district’s schools as “welcoming and protective,” but declined to say whether a decision has been reached regarding the new Title IX rules. A spokesperson from the University of North Texas confirmed the UNT System had received Abbott’s letter but declined to clarify whether the university will imple- ment the new rules starting in the fall. In a May 6 meeting, the board of trustees for Carroll ISD denounced the new federal protections, siding with Abbott. A resolution passed by the board said the rules “may intro- duce confusion and ambiguity regarding the implementation and enforcement of Title IX, potentially jeopardizing the safety and well- being of students in our district.” The resolu- tion names Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, and State Reps. Nate Schatzline, Steve Toth, Tony Tinderholt and Brian Har- rison as supporters of the condemnation. “We’re taking a stance and we think it’s the right stance,” Cameron Bryan, president of the Carroll ISD board, said in the meeting. Three other Dallas-area public universi- ties and five Dallas-area school districts did not respond to requests for comment. Unfair Park from p12
