Bellaire bathroom policy provokes debate

Mar. 25—BELLAIRE — A transgender student using a bathroom that aligns with her gender identity is galvanizing some parents to request that the small northern Michigan school district change its policy.

Roughly 50 people attended this week's meeting of the Bellaire Public Schools board of education, where nine parents and community members expressed concerns about a policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

This discussion of transgender students' rights started with a student, who identifies as a transgender girl, using the girls' restroom at Bellaire High School. The student's parents were contacted for this article, but they declined to comment on the record.

Superintendent Mark Brenton said that, after a few students came to the school's office to complain, he spoke with the school's legal counsel. Then he issued a letter on March 15, in which he wrote that the school is legally required to allow transgender students to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity, citing guidelines from the Michigan State Board of Education, state and federal law, case law and advice from legal counsel.

Brenton's letter adds that any student can use a single-user bathroom in the school if they are not comfortable with the multi-stall bathrooms for any reason.

At the end of the letter, he encouraged parents to contact their state and federal representatives with their concerns.

The sentiment from Brenton's letter was reiterated by board President Mike Robinson just before the public comment portion of Monday's meeting.

Robinson emphasized that, no matter the views of individuals, it would go against the trustees' oath of office to put the district in potential legal jeopardy by violating state and federal law.

The federal law, Title IX, outlaws sex discrimination in most schools.

During public comment, some Bellaire parents and community members questioned the school policy's leniency and whether students would abuse it, possibly putting cisgender girls in danger of sexual assault.

"Where the hell are you guys gonna draw the line?" Steven Elandt, a parent of a Bellaire student, asked during public comment.

Many made a point to state that they were accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, and that they were at the meeting to advocate for a different policy.

Others questioned the specific student's motivations, making comments about her genitalia and whether she was abusing school policy.

Jamie VanSice, a parent, said some kids are not ready or comfortable sharing bathrooms with transgender students, and that she felt transgender students should use the unisex or single-user bathrooms at the school.

VanSice said she did not raise her children to be homophobic or transphobic, and she does not live her life that way, either. She added that she does not feel it's fair for cisgender kids, people whose gender identity matches their biological sex at birth, to be forced into a unisex bathroom "just because the other person thinks that their needs are superior or that they need to be treated special."

Two police officers in uniform were present at the meeting and stood just outside of the meeting space in the Bellaire High School media center. After the meeting, Robinson said that this was not common at their meetings, but members of the public — not the school district administration or board — made calls to law enforcement expressing fear that the meeting could become violent.

But the meeting, which lasted about an hour, was calm and civil.

Brenton said he has received many calls from parents regarding the bathroom policy since the week prior, and he spoke to a number of the public commenters before the meeting.

Students, like parents, are typically split when it comes to how they feel about the policy, Brenton said. But no one spoke at the meeting in favor of the policy, which states that transgender students may use whichever bathroom aligns with their gender identity.

However, some parents and community members said they were saddened by this response to a transgender girl using the girls' restroom.

Some said they were upset by the comments and posts on Facebook about the situation.

"It was incredibly dehumanizing," said Brad Kik, regarding what was being said on Facebook.

Kik is a dad who lives part-time in Bellaire and whose kids attended Bellaire Public Schools up until the 2021-22 school year. He said he was surprised and disturbed to read through posts and comments on Facebook in which people referred to the student as a "boy" or "man" and made reference to her genitals and her girlfriend.

"It just felt like they had to make a villain out of someone who's in an incredibly tender, very courageous moment of being true to themselves," Kik said.

One Bellaire parent, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their children who are in the LGBTQ community, said they understand parents' concerns about protecting their children, but stressed that transgender kids need protection as well.

"There seems to be a distinct lack of compassion and empathy for these kids, these transgender kids," the parent said. "They're looking to be protected, too."

Other community members said they worried that people's comments about the bathroom policy would prohibit transgender kids or adults in Bellaire from coming out in the future. Some felt the comments were inherently transphobic and disagreed that there is any risk of students abusing the policy just to use a certain bathroom.

"No one's going to pretend to be trans, because being trans is dangerous," said Melanie Hurst, a resident of Bellaire and parent of five.

Hurst pays taxes to Bellaire Public Schools, but her children attend Central Lake Public Schools through Michigan's schools of choice program, because she did not like the services provided by the school or the school culture.

According to a 2022 study by the University of California Los Angeles, or UCLA, about 300,000, or 1.43 percent, of students between the ages of 13 and 17 identify as transgender. In Michigan, the study estimates that just under 9,000 of Michigan's roughly 650,000 students in that age range identify as transgender.

Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity, or their internal concept of themselves, is different from the sex they were assigned at birth, according to the Human Rights Coalition.

When a transgender person "transitions," that means they are deciding to live according to the gender they identify with. That can sometimes include hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgery, but not always, according to the Coalition.

Recently, several states, such as Iowa, Texas and Utah, have introduced or passed legislation that prohibits transgender students from engaging in sports that align with their gender identity, using restrooms or locker rooms that align with their gender identity and receiving gender-affirming care. Some of these actions are now being challenged in court.

Similar laws do not currently exist in Michigan, but versions have been raised in the state Legislature in the past.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title IX states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, many courts have found that Title IX also prohibits discrimination against someone because they are transgender or do not meet gender-related stereotypes and expectations.

According to the Thrun Law website, a Michigan law firm that represents several schools in the region, state and federal guidance "support school officials taking actions to affirm a transgender student's right to self-identification and provide access to sex-segregated facilities that correspond with their gender identity," citing guidelines from the state board of education, executive orders from the Biden Administration and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

Reports on transgender youth indicate high rates of mental illness and suicide, which is sometimes linked to how accepted they feel in their communities.

Nearly one in five transgender and nonbinary youth have attempted suicide, yet all LGBTQ+ youth report significantly lower rates of suicide attempts when their communities and schools are accepting and affirming of their identities and sexualities, according to a survey conducted by the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth.

Bellaire Superintendent Brenton said school administrators and board members are currently discussing with legal counsel some potential changes — either to school policy or to the physical bathrooms. He declined to elaborate further.

"It's critical that people understand: board policies are based on the laws," he said.

Brenton said the Bellaire district has not yet had to deal with threats of harm or physical harm against any of the district's transgender students at this point — and the district's transgender students will continue to have the opportunity to use the bathroom of their choice.

TRAVERSE CITY — Their season might be over, but the Elk Rapids robotics team made program history last weekend.

By the last day of the FIRST Robotics tournament at Traverse City Central High School, the Robo Herd, Elk Rapids' robotics team, had a winning record and were confident they would have a shot at the championship, said Matt Carter, a life sciences teacher at Elk Rapids High School who has coached the team for the past eight years.

When they were not chosen for the playoffs, the students were a bit crushed, Carter said. But, as a first alternative, the team held out hope.

"It's like waiting for the text that it's a snow day," said sophomore Devin Melton. "Like, you just want it to happen. And then it actually happened."

The Robo Herd was chosen to substitute into the alliance of Traverse City West Senior High's Titans, Bloomfield Hills High School's Bionic Black Hawks and Manton High School's Robotic Rangers when the Robotic Rangers' robot stopped working at its full capacity.

From there, their alliance won four matches in a row and landed in the finals, where they had to win two out of three matches against the alliance of the Onaway Onabots from Onaway Secondary School, the Cyber Coyotes from Reed City High School and the Boyne City Blaze from Boyne City High School.

After winning the first match, losing the second and experiencing more technical difficulties, the Robo Herd, the Titans, the Bionic Black Hawks and the Robotic Rangers won the tournament, netting Elk Rapids its first tournament win in the 10-year history of their robotics program.

"It didn't feel real," Melton said.

The team burst into happy tears and jubilation.

"Almost all of us were screaming," said Elk Rapids freshman Doug Goethel.

Team robotics programs, like FIRST Robotics and VEX Robotics, have grown immensely as an extracurricular for school-age kids in Michigan. Between FIRST and VEX, there are programs for students of all ages, from elementary to high school.

Robotics competitions typically consist of teams scoring points by making their robots complete tasks, such as picking up and setting down different objects or balancing on platforms. The competition games change every year, and teams need to build their robots and practice with the season's goals in mind.

At last weekend's tournament, several local schools won awards for the quality and function of their robots and their teamwork.

The Titans won the tournament's Quality Award for the high-quality build and functionality of their robot and TC Central's team, the Raptors, won the tournament's Autonomous Award for their robot's consistency and reliability when operating autonomously.

Other awardees at the tournament included the Norsemen from Suttons Bay High School, who won the engineering inspiration award; the IronBots from Mancelona High School, who won Industrial Design Award; the AnchorBots from Glen Lake Secondary School who won the Judges' Award; the Petoskey Paladins of Petoskey High School, who won the Gracious Professionalism Award; and the Steel Sturgeons from the Greenspire School who won the Rookie Inspiration Award.

This was Greenspire's first robotics competition and the first award for the rookie team.

The Steel Sturgeons will compete at another FIRST Robotics tournament at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday and Saturday. Forty high school teams will compete at that tournament, including Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools' team, the Gladiators.

This year's FIRST Robotics State Championship in Michigan will be held from April 6 to 8 at Saginaw Valley State University. Both the Titans from TC West and the Raptors from TC Central will compete at that tournament, according to a press release from Traverse City Area Public Schools.

The FIRST Robotics Worlds competition will take place shortly after, between April 19 and April 22 in Houston, Texas.

One of the VEX Robotics teams from Benzie Central Schools, the Gassy Cats, received a teamwork award at the VEX Robotics State Championship and qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championship, which will run from April 25 to May 4 this year in Dallas, Texas, according to a press release from the school district.

Three teams from Immaculate Conception elementary school in Traverse City will go to the VEX Robotics World Championship as well, according to a post from the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools' Facebook page.

Because of their performance in another FIRST tournament this season, the Robo Herd will not be going to the FIRST state championship, Carter said. Instead, the Robo Herd is switching focus to recruitment, fundraising, community outreach and passing down valuable knowledge from the graduating seniors to the underclassmen, Carter said.

"Now that we know our season's done, a lot of the focus is: how do we transfer those skills that the older kids have to the younger kids so we don't lose any of those skills and we continue to build upon the program," Carter said.