DPS BOARD SUPPORTS ALL-GENDER BATHROOMS
Denver Public Schools board members vote to require all schools to provide at least one all-gender restroom.
Denver Public Schools board members voted unanimously Thursday to require all district schools to provide at least one all-gender bathroom.
It won’t necessarily require new construction, because most schools have a single-stall restroom for faculty that could be opened to students. The resolution also will require staff members to use students’ preferred names and pronouns, even if students haven’t changed their names or gender legally.
In addition, the board resolution clarified that employees shouldn’t be disciplined for mentioning their sexual orientation or gender identity in workappropriate ways — for example, a female teacher talking to a colleague about weekend plans with her wife. Teachers and other staff members can hang a rainbow flag or other symbols of support for LGBT people, the resolution said.
While the idea of genderneutral bathrooms has been controversial in some places, no one spoke in opposition to the resolution, and all nine candidates in the November election had pledged to support requiring all schools to offer one.
Only one person, a student who identifies as transgender, spoke during public comment on the resolution.
The student said he avoids drinking water during the school day because of concerns about being outed when using the bathroom.
About half the larger-thanusual audience at the board meeting stood up to applaud the board’s vote. One Colorado, an LGBT advocacy organization, released a statement praising the decision and asking other districts to consider a similar resolution.
“While we all hope that schools serve their purpose as an incubator for creativity, connection, and learning, far too often they can be lonely or hostile places,” said Daniel Ramos, the group’s executive director.
Ramos said the resolution is a needed step to protect LGBTQ youths, educators, administrators, staff members and parents from becoming targets of bullying and abuse.
Board member Scott Baldermann, who represents District 1, said some schools have been taking action on their own, but the resolution will standardize expectations for inclusion. In 2018, the board passed a resolution of support for transgender and nonbinary people. A person who is transgender identifies as a different gender than the one assigned at birth. Non-binary people may identify with elements of male and female genders or with neither.
Board member Angela Cobián described the resolution as the start of a process rather than the end.
At-large board member Tay Anderson said he hopes the resolution sends a message to other school districts and to the federal government.
President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed defining gender in federal antidiscrimination laws by “the genitals a person is born with,” which effectively would erase protections for transgender people.
“In Denver Public Schools, we believe that love always trumps hate,” Anderson said. “It is time that we fight for everybody in the United States of America.”