Red Lion directs transgender students to use bathrooms based on birth certificate gender
The Red Lion Area School Board has ordered students in the district to use the bathroom or locker room - or participate in sports activities - based on the gender on their birth certificate.
The directive, approved at the Dec. 1 board meeting after being added to the agenda at the last minute, has drawn criticism from some parents and a local LGBTQIA+ advocate.
The board described the directive as temporary until the district can further develop its policy on Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and extracurricular activities. The district plans to host a public town hall at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19 in the high school auditorium to discuss it.
Red Lion's decision came a week before a new state regulation was approved, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Gov. Tom Wolf praised the statewide change, saying it will protect the rights of individuals facing discrimination by a school, landlord or employer, according to a news release.
Tesla Taliaferro, president and resource specialist volunteer at the Rainbow Rose Center, said the directive by the Red Lion school board was inappropriate and illegal.
He and the organization are concerned for the health and well-being of the students and are offering support for them and their families.
"They're being told, 'You're not welcome in this community,'" Taliaferro said. "It's outright discrimination."
'... It isn't just boys and girls. Welcome to 2022, folks. Wake up.'
Board member Carolyn Sedora made motions to discuss Title XI guidance for the administration and to craft a temporary directive until a policy can be completed.
The board approved moving ahead, even though its solicitor, Mieke Driscoll, advised that under the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, action items can only be added if they are urgent.
"I think we need to talk about the bathroom usage as it relates to boys, girls and all in between," Sedora said, adding locker rooms and sports teams. "... My first initial thoughts are that we just use the birth certificate that everybody has ..."
Board member Donna Haywood said she agreed.
"The absolute truth is a boy's a boy, a girl's a girl," she said. "Until we get a policy in place, I think they should use whatever is on their birth certificate" whether it's for the bathroom, locker room or sports team.
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Board member John Blevins questioned what the impact would be to students if the board approved the directive immediately. A handful of students were using the bathrooms for the gender they identify with or the nurse or faculty restrooms, administrators said.
School board members did not explain during the meeting why the temporary directive was needed. One board member said there are current situations going on now, but did not elaborate.
During public comment, some residents spoke in favor of separating students based on their gender assigned at birth. "There is a boy, and there is a girl. ... There is no in between," one resident said.
Jill Lutz, a parent of children who attend school in the district, said transgender children are not something to worry about being contagious.
"Regardless of what you believe, these are six children, and I actually fear more for them after this meeting than I think I ever have," Lutz said. "So I want to make sure that whatever determination is made, that we make sure we're providing a safe place for these children to use the bathroom, to get changed for gym class."
"... It isn't just boys and girls," she said. "Welcome to 2022, folks. Wake up."
The board voted 6-2 in favor of the directive and ordered the administration to provide accommodations for students who do not feel comfortable using the bathrooms or locker rooms that are consistent with their gender assigned at birth. Blevins and Christine Crone voted against it.
Violation of Pennsylvania Sunshine Act?
Driscoll told the board that under the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, action items can only be added if they are urgent, meaning that it was not possible to put it on the agenda 24 hours in advance.
An exception exists for an emergency that has arisen, she said. She told the board that she couldn't say whether this case would rise to that level.
"My interpretation would be that it does not," she said.
Two board members − Blevins and Crone − voted against adding the action item to the agenda.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said in an email that Red Lion's last-minute addition to the agenda "raises significant issues under the Sunshine Act including potential liability and loss of public trust."
Kimberly Preske, who has a master's degree in social work, said during public comment that she believes the board violated the state Sunshine Act, and the directive did not meet emergency criteria. She also said it sounds like the board and the community need more education on transgender people and what they face.
Preske said she hopes the board will highly advertise the meeting on Dec. 19.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Red Lion students told to use bathroom based on gender at birth
