After community concern, Park County school board to advocate for bathroom law

POWELL - Community members crowded into the Park County School District 1 Board of Trustees meeting room Tuesday evening to speak their minds about transgender bathroom use in Powell schools.

After some students voiced concerns to their parents about a transgender female (a biological male) in a girls' restroom at Powell High School, the topic hit the public sphere during an October school board forum, where a submitted comment said some girls had not been using the school's facilities or had left school altogether.

The board did not adopt any new policies at Tuesday's meeting, but voted 6-0 to call for a new state law that would require transgender students to use the bathroom of their sex assigned at birth or a private restroom.

In the resolution, the board members said they want to consider a sex-based restroom policy as soon as possible, but that "the current legal and legislative landscape of the United States and Wyoming does not provide a clear foundation for individual school districts to set policy ..."

Parents' concerns

Among the dozens of people who filled up the meeting room and spilled into the lobby, roughly 15 spoke during a 30-minute public comment period.

Carrie Peters, a PCSD1 parent, said she's pushed the board to be proactive and implement policies for more than two-and-a-half years.

"We can debate the various aspects of the legal landscape and agree to disagree for now, but there have been other actions you could have taken on this but chose not to," Peters said. "The problem is real; this is happening at Powell High School right now, and the girls are paying a price. Girls are not using the restroom all day long. They are anxious; they are avoiding bathrooms."

Peters said her intent is not to target a child or class of people, but to protect the girls of Powell High School "because their voices and concerns have been completely dismissed in all of this."

The resolution is a small step toward acknowledging the problem, she said, and a public commitment by the board for future policy.

Another parent, Heidi Robinson, said she wanted the board to be able to put a face to the issue.

"Both my son and daughter have been in situations where they were in intimate situations with a non-conforming student," Robinson said. "My son came to me and said, 'I don't feel that this is right in the locker room. I don't feel like this is safe for this kid. I don't know as a gentleman how I should act in this situation.'"

Robinson added that her daughter has anxiety not from the transgender student, but from a lack of policy.

"We are not trying to highlight any specific student, we really want the safety of all," Robinson said.

She added that, although they met with the administration, they were not offered what they felt were effective solutions.

Fellow parent Justin Eden told the board his daughter filed an official complaint with the district after witnessing "a male student" in the girls' restroom.

"Since then, she has not been offered any guidance or help; since then she feels like her voice has fallen on deaf ears. When my daughter comes home and tells her mom that, 'I guess somebody's going to have to get sexually assaulted before they do anything,' [it] is disgusting," Eden said, adding, "Quit waiting around for the state to do something and keep our children safe."

Superintendent Jay Curtis previously told the Tribune that the district had heard concerns from parents but did not have evidence that a transgender student had been using restrooms aligning with their gender identity.

At the end of Tuesday's meeting, Curtis explained that the district's current practice is to work with transgender students on an individual basis, which includes the use of a private restroom. In order to look into complaints and concerns, the district needs dates, times and information like who, when and where, he said, otherwise it's hard for the district to follow up on.

Community concerns

Many community members advocated for the privacy and safety of Powell High School's female students in restrooms and locker rooms while also acknowledging that the safety of transgender students mattered.

Michelle Hartman, a former IMC clerk for PCSD1, cited the Bible to argue that even providing a private restroom or changing room for transgender students is lying to them.

"We should be a truth-telling institution in our schools," Hartman said. "If you say this is so, then they're going to look at their teachers, who they look up to, and they're going to say, 'Oh, see, yes, they do agree. I'm a boy, or I'm a girl,' when in fact they are not ..."

Joni Bennett, a parent of PCSD1 graduates and 2022 school board candidate, expressed her frustration with the district and the board for not acting earlier while also acknowledging every child's right to be educated and taken care of.

"Why does it have to come to this for us to fill the doors, for you guys to finally get the attention, to get something done, to get something taken care of?" Bennett said, also charging that some board members "have been playing on the phone, making disgusting faces, not really even caring or paying attention to some of the comments here."

School Board Chairman Kim Dillivan reminded Bennett to avoid disparaging comments, but she was supported by members of the crowd, who shouted for Bennett to be allowed to finish her allotted three minutes.

Another perspective

While the majority of the audience signified they were in support of the resolution, a handful were not.

The document says the board will advocate for legislation that's similar to Oklahoma's, but PCSD1 parent Jeny Gardner spoke against it.

Oklahoma's law is harmful to transgender students, Gardner said, without evidence that it helps the other members of the student body.

"Transgender students already face a great many barriers to acceptance at school and requiring them to use a bathroom that is designated especially for them is tremendously stigmatizing," Gardner said, drawing from information she'd compiled from various professional associations.

She said that sends a message to students that their gender identity is not valid, which can affect the child's sense of self and safety. The school's responsibility is to keep all students safe, Gardner said, and that isn't violated by allowing a student to use the bathroom aligning with their gender identity.

She added that any student who requires increased privacy should have access to alternatives, "but no student should be forced to use those alternatives."

Grace Coombs, a recent Powell High School graduate, also spoke, drawing contrast to the opinions raised by other community members.

"My high school years were plagued with a political division that is growing to this day. The seeds of hatred that were planted then are now beginning to bud," Coombs said. "Students' removal of [Gay Straight Alliance] posters when I was in high school has spiraled into rumors of litter boxes, and it's honestly dehumanizing."

Coombs, who is not transgender, asked the board to imagine that she was and to then look at her hands and their own.

"Do your hands look any different than the trans students' hands? Is a trans student any less human than maybe your child or yourself?" Coombs asked. "And I believe that school needs to be safe for everyone, even for the trans students that are being ridiculed at the moment."

An education major, Coombs said her classes have taught her that students do their best learning when they feel safe.

"I understand some people fear for the safety of their children, and I respect your love towards them," Coombs said. "Let me be clear: being transgender does not make someone a threat."

Next steps

Now that the resolution has passed, the district is set to advocate for Oklahoma's law during the 2025 Legislative Session and possibly a future policy.

"I've already begun conversations with [legislators], and so this resolution provides me with the backing to move forward," Curtis said at Tuesday's meeting.

As for why the district has not adopted a policy in two-and-a-half years, that's due in part to federal Title IX and the advice of the school district's legal counsel, Curtis explained.

Title IX, which was originally designed in the 1970s to provide equality for boys and girls with regard to sports, has evolved to address sexual discrimination.

"There is a pendulum that exists with regards to Title IX. When you have one [presidential] administration in place, it is interpreted one way. And when another administration is in place, there is a different interpretation," Curtis said. "I fully expect in January, February at the latest, there will be a different interpretation of Title IX, and that is one hoop that will be out of the way for us."

Curtis also mentioned a large amount of case law is "muddy," with rulings being made on both sides of the issue.

The U.S. Supreme Court has also not weighed in on sex-based bathroom use, Curtis said, sending cases back to lower courts with no decision.

"Although it's not a decision, it is as good as a decision in the sense that they have not ruled to provide us their guidance," he said.

The superintendent also noted that Oklahoma's law is currently being challenged and that no school district in Wyoming currently has a policy on sex-based restroom use.

"This is not a Powell issue," Curtis said. "It is a Wyoming issue. It's a United States issue."

The board's resolution begins by affirming that the safety of all students is important to providing quality education. It says the board will consider adopting a policy when state lawmakers pass legislation or when a ruling is made on Oklahoma's law.

"I can see merits to both sides. It's tough. It's complex, and we do love all kids, and we do want to support all kids," Curtis said.

Following the meeting, Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) wrote on her Facebook page that she was "so proud of the Powell community for coming out and testifying in support of the resolution."

"It's not policy, but a step in the right direction," Rodriguez-Williams wrote. "Biological boys should not be able to use girls restrooms or locker rooms. Girls deserve to have safe spaces and privacy."

The resolution as well as Oklahoma's law can be viewed at park1public.ic-board.com.

This story was published on November 14, 2024.