SHELBY — The Shelby City school board has no plans to reconsider its policy allowing transgender students to use the restroom corresponding with their gender identity, despite recent opposition from the public.
Multiple residents, among the approximately 40 in attendance, addressed the board during its Monday night meeting asking the board to reverse its position. Many of them cited concern for student comfort and safety and said they would like the district to require transgender students to use a single, gender-neutral restroom.
Bishop Anthony Cooper, who pastors at Life Church, said he was a supporter of the schools and recognized the district is in a “difficult position.” He told board members the community would support them if they chose to reverse the policy.
“We’re not here to fight against you, but we are here to protect our children,” he said. “I’m here to let you know that you have our support, if you will stand up against this.”
Cooper asked members of the board to reverse the policy or resign.
“Tonight I appeal to you, please put a stop to it. If you can’t do it, I ask you to put your resignation in,” he said.
Ashton Ogle said he doesn’t assume transgender students have ill intent, but he fears cis-gender male students may take advantage of the policy and enter the girl’s restroom.
“My daughter doesn’t feel comfortable going to the restroom because she doesn’t know who’s gonna walk in there,” Ogle said.
Shelby High School Principal John Gies said there is a process in place for students who identify as transgender and want to begin using the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity.
“(The guidance counselor and I) meet with the student because there’s a lot to it,” he said. “Everything from what goes on diplomas, to what goes on transcripts, to what goes on grade cards and schedules. We ask a lot of questions.
“It’s not just a one day, ‘Hey, I feel like this.'”
John Montgomery, who identified himself as an assistant pastor at Temple of God, said he believed God will protect the school from harm if the board chooses to challenge the law.
“We’re at the crossroads in our community, our state and our country. It’s time to seek God,” he said. “Take a stand for God and I guarantee he’ll take a stand for you. You won’t need the state’s money.”
One student, Liberty Lewis, said she felt uncomfortable using the restroom alongside transgender girls.
“You guys may be thinking that we’re just going to the bathroom in a stall alone,” she said.
“But when I come out, I’m looking in the mirror, I’m fixing my hair and other feminine things that I’m doing. I should not have to feel uncomfortable if a not biological girl is in there watching me do these things.”
Supt. Tim Tarvin read a letter from resident Garland Gates submitted as public comment. Gates was the only member of the public to speak in support of the school’s policy.
“My late brother Bruce, Shelby High School Class of 1975, a gay man, nearly in tears many years ago once told me, ‘All we want is to be left alone,'” Gates wrote.
“I believe that is true for LGBTQ students in the Shelby City School District. They want to be left alone so they can get the best possible education and participate to the greatest extent possible in the life and culture of the Shelby City Schools.”
According to Tarvin, there are currently 10 students at the high school and one at Pioneer who identify as transgender. He also said the school has separate, single stall restrooms that are gender-neutral and open to all students.
Tarvin said the district’s policy is in line with federal case law. Courts have repeatedly ruled transgender students have the right to use the restroom corresponding with their gender identity.
School board president Lorie White said the school could face legal consequences if the policy is changed.
“We don’t always get the option as board members to only consider what our personal convictions are,” she said.
“We have a responsibility to all of our students and to make decisions that protect our district, including legally. The legal threat of all of this is real.”
Board member Carl Ridenour said those who oppose the policy are asking the school board to pick and choose which laws to follow.
“What you all are asking us all to do is to ignore certain laws,” Ridenour said. “If we start picking and choosing which laws to ignore, where does that slippery slope stop?”
After about 30 minutes of public comment, residents began asking the board to discuss the matter and take action.
“I don’t think we have any immediate plans to have open discussion about this in public with a decision being made,” White said.
Instead, White encouraged residents to reach out to school board members with further questions and concerns.
“Community members are welcome to call us. We can have individual conversations with you,” she said. “
“We want to work with your cisgender students as well as our transgender students. So please, please don’t be afraid to give us a call and talk to us about our processes.”
Board member Kim Nadolsky said after the issue arose at last month’s board meeting, she discussed the matter with fellow board members, Tarvin and the school board’s legal counsel.
“This issue has weighed heavily on my mind,” she said. “We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.”
Nadolsky proposed the board require all students to use restrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their “birth gender,” along with providing gender-neutral restrooms.
She also said that if the board did not change its policy, it should publish a statement on the school website informing parents that all students are allowed to use the private, single use restrooms in each building.
After Nadolsky spoke, the board moved on to its routine agenda items.
Tarvin presented a commendation and charm bracelet to Fran Schroeder, the district’s Education Management Information System (EMIS) coordinator, in honor of her retirement. Her last day was Friday.
Schroeder joked that she was 12 when she joined the district staff in May 1998. She’s enrolled thousands of Shelby students since.
“Fran Schroeder has consistently demonstrated a caring attitude and has helped to establish a welcoming environment for staff and visitors at the board of education office,” Tarvin said.
As EMIS coordinator, Schroeder managed data on every student in the district, inputting it into a statewide data collection system as required by the state of Ohio. The EMIS includes information on student demographics, attendance, course information, school financial data and test results.
According to Tarvin, the data must be inputted properly in order for school district’s to get funding from the state.
“Principals can testify, she’ll call them and pester them until they get the information to her that she knows she needs that we get our full funding for each kid,” Tarvin said.
Schroeder thanked the board.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work for Shelby City Schools,” she said.
The board also voted 4-1 to approve a 10-year tax abatement agreement with Lloyd Rebar. The company is expanding and has agreed to pay the district $29,000 annually. Scott Rose voted no.
The board also approved:
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An eight year, $62,000 agreement with Vasco for turf fields.
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Allowing the district to cover the cost of training, drug testing and other requirements for potential new bus and van drivers.
Federal courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of transgender students who wish to use the restroom corresponding with their gender identity.
In March 2016, Highland Local Schools in Morrow County, Ohio was notified by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights that its refusal to allow an eleven-year-old transgender girl to use the girl’s restroom constituted a violation of Title IX, a federal civil rights law that protects people from sex-based discrimination in education. Violation of Title IX can result in a loss of federal funding.
Highland filed a lawsuit in response, but both the United States District Court and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Department of Education.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a similar ruling in Gloucester Cty. School District. v. Grimm. According to Equality Ohio, the court also ruled that any student may be offered single occupancy or unisex facilities, but no student can be required to use those facilities.
The United States Supreme Court has decided on multiple occasions not to hear cases challenging transgender students’ rights to use the bathroom corresponding with their identity, upholding the decision of the lower courts.
Both the Ohio Attorney General and Ohio’s State Board of Education have expressed opposition to proposed federal protections for LGBTQ+ students under Title IX.
