Transgender policy on hold pending legal outcome
Spring-Ford School District officials are taking the wait-and-see approach when it comes to adopting a policy for transgender students.
After two major lawsuits against Pennsylvania school districts involving transgender students have been filed, including one against the Boyertown Area School District, Spring-Ford is waiting for the courts to make a decision before it changes school policy.
In Western Pennsylvania, three transgender students are suing the PineRichland School District to allow them to use the bathrooms they want, according to the Pittsburgh PostGazette. Meanwhile in our area, just the opposite is happening, as a student is suing the Boyertown Area School District for failing to restrict the use of its bathrooms and locker rooms to either male or female students.
Following the advice of Solicitor Mark Fitzgerald and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, SpringFord officials said they are waiting for a legal ruling before they make any decisions.
“We will continue to do everything we can to accommodate all of our students,” said board Vice President TomDiBello. “We’re in await-and-see situation unfortunately .”
Fitzgerald was curious to see which of the two cases would appear first before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
“(It will) create what we suspect will be the law at least of this region as it relates to these issues,” he said. “Whether it be privacy or equal protection under Title 9. So a lot is still to be determined. Many districts are still in the dark.”
The state school boards association, Fitzgerald said, issued the same notice last week saying the law “is evolving.”
“We don’t have specific direction for you,” he said.
The board policy committee has a draft on transgender students its been working on but has had to shelve it for the mean time, Assistant Superintendent Allyn Roche said. The policy addresses transgender access to locker rooms and bathrooms among other things.
“It’s on our agenda every month for us to talk about,” he said. “Butwith theunsure court cases, we’re really not ready to make a line in the sand at this time. We’re waiting there. So we do have a draft.”
In the mean time, Roche said the district is handling the situation on a case by case basis on both sides of the issue.
When looking at policy, the district has to be aware of issues related to the Fam- ily Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of a student’s education records, Fitzgerald said.
“If there is a student that has transitioned in SpringFord, it’s not like the district can have an assembly on that issue,” he said. “It’s very particular to a given student and that’s to be kept confidential.”
“Spring-Ford is in the vast majority of districts that do not have a policy and are taking a wait and see approach,” he said, “which I strongly believe is the proper guidance at this point.”