In SLO County, adults are still obsessing over school bathrooms. Get over it | Opinion

California law is clear.

Students are entitled to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity — regardless of the gender listed on their school records.

That law, AB 1266, has been in effect since 2014.

In other words, the issue is settled, yet you wouldn’t know that from some of the outrageous statements made at Tuesday night’s school board workshop in Templeton, held to discuss the district’s policy on bathrooms and locker rooms as it relates to gender. Retrofitting facilities to allow more privacy for students was a key focus.

In anticipation of a large turnout, the meeting was held in the band room at Templeton Middle School.

It quickly devolved into an ideological battleground so intense that the school board president threatened to remove people.

At times, it sounded more like a religious revival than a school board session.

One speaker asked audience members to raise their hands if they do not believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins. (One woman who raised her hand could be overheard saying, “I’m Jewish.”)

Another quoted Bible verses.

And still another drew parallels between California’s public school system and the schools in Nazi Germany.

“The Nazis first focused on what the students learn. They changed to core curriculum to emphasize racial science, sports and history. ... Subjects such as religion became less important and were eventually removed from the curriculum,” she said, though she assured the board that it was not her intention to “slam” teachers.

‘Hatred and vitriol’

It was all to make a point: Boys have no place in girls’ restrooms or locker rooms. And vice versa.

Never mind that the California law saying otherwise has been in place for almost 10 years. The current wave of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is trying the erase that, even if it means putting school districts in legal jeopardy for failing to follow the law.

Some who commented in support of transgender rights said it was a depressing experience to stand in the Templeton band room and listen to what one speaker described as “hated and vitriol” directed at a vulnerable group of students, especially when the rights of transgender people are under attack.

Several states, including Florida, Kansas, Arkansas and Iowa, have passed laws forbidding transgender people from using the bathrooms of their choice in public buildings, including schools.

Even in liberal California, conservative backlash led the Long Beach school board to put plans for a gender-neutral high school locker room on hold.

Moms for Liberty: ‘We are for the innocence of our children’

In San Luis Obispo County, there have been occasional anti-transgender comments at school board meetings but nothing like the marathon meeting in Templeton.

Some who spoke in support of transgender rights blamed school board member Jennifer Grinager for the hostile atmosphere.

Grinager, a former president and current member of Moms for Liberty, had pumped up the volume by promoting the meeting at a North County Tea Party gathering.

“Even if you don’t live in Templeton, it’s important for you to know this and consider coming,” she said.

Students using the “opposite sex” restroom isn’t something just happening in big cities, she warned. It’s “rampant” in the Templeton district, though she acknowledged she doesn’t have exact numbers.

“I know for certain of four girls using the boys’ locker room ... and at least one student at the high school who’s transgender that’s using the female bathroom there,” she said. “So it’s happening at all of our school districts — Paso Robles, Atascadero, everywhere.”

There you have it.

Grinager’s conclusion that this is “rampant” is based on — what? — rumors and anecdotal information, like much of the other phony data being tossed around.

Her affiliation with the controversial Moms for Liberty — an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center placed on its list of hate groups — she explained like this: “We are for the innocence of our children. We are against them being sexualized, and that’s what we’re fighting for. We see that that’s what’s going on in our school system.”

Her conservative point of view no doubt helped Grinager get elected, but her job now is not to be a cheerleader for Moms for Liberty.

She would do well to recognize that as an elected official sworn to uphold the laws of the state, her first duty is to her office — not to the Moms or to fringe, right-wing Tea Partiers.

While she’s at it, Grinager should reconsider her approach to this and any other potentially divisive topic she might tackle, so that she comes from a place of collaboration that fosters listening and cooperation and doesn’t inflame powerful emotions unnecessarily.

The entire tenor of the meeting was preordained once she turned a simple question about improving facilities into a culture war.

She should dump the mama bear schtick and, like the other adults in the room, focus on productive ways she can help Templeton schools thrive through consensus and unity.

Superintendent Aaron Asplund said it best: “There’s no reason our conversations need to be framed this way as two sets of values in conflict. Some folks might have come thinking this should be framed as a conservative versus progressive values showdown. That’s not what this is.”

Moving toward gender-neutral facilities

This “bathroom issue” does not have to be a big deal; there are plenty of more critical issues to focus on in education.

We’ve already seen an evolution in bathroom facilities in many places — shopping centers, restaurants and workplaces often have several types of restrooms: men’s rooms, women’s rooms, unisex, family restrooms.

Schools — at least in states that aren’t stripping trans youths of their rights — are moving in that direction too, by focusing on ways to repurpose existing facilities to make all students feel comfortable, be they straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

The focus now is on providing gender-neutral facilities, while at the same time increasing privacy.

The state Department of Education is offering guidance to districts that want to add all-access restrooms.

And the state Legislature is looking at new facility requirements.

One proposal, SB 760, would require all public schools in California to provide at least one gender-neutral bathroom for students by 2025. Because it would be a state mandate, schools would be reimbursed for the cost.

That makes sense.

Mandating actual facilities would take the pressure off local school districts. Individual districts should not be forced into a position of having to defend themselves for repurposing restrooms and locker rooms to better accommodate students.

The Templeton district already is considering several ideas for increasing student privacy, such as including individual changing stalls in locker rooms and adding floor-to-ceiling partitions in restrooms.

The administration and school board deserve credit for that, instead of pushback and interference from people who think their personal beliefs should take precedence.

Again, California’s law is clear. Students have the right to use facilities corresponding to their gender identities — a humane policy that deserves support.

If adults don’t like it, they can take it to court or try to overturn the law by putting it on the ballot — though good luck getting that to pass in California.

Templeton is a prime example of a school district striving to do the right thing by following the law, while at the same time accommodating all students who are under their care.

For that, it deserves support, respect and cooperation.