Stillwater Public Schools addresses bathroom policy rumors
Apr. 1—On Thursday, Stillwater Public Schools Interim Superintendent Gay Washington addressed rumors she says have been spreading for the past few months regarding district restroom policies.
The district has not had any official reports of incidents related to restroom use by any student and if there were any misbehavior, it would be handled as a disciplinary issue, she said. But some parents are raising concerns and asking questions.
Washington said she had her first conversation about the issue in late February. She previously told the News Press that no incidents had been reported by students to school administrators, and no site administrators had brought up concerns to district administrators.
A number of parents and several local ministers addressed the Board of Education March 8 to express concern about what they believed was a change in district policy regarding whether a transgender student would be allowed to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Most cited religious reasons for their objections.
Several residents, including one former SPS student, asked for kindness, respect and protection for students whose lives they said are already hard enough.
The former student said when she was attended Stillwater schools, she would avoid using the restroom all day because she didn't feel safe being in the boys' bathroom.
The district has a duty to provide a safe learning environment for transgender students, Irissa Baxter-Luper, Coordinator of LGBTQ Affairs for Oklahoma State University said.
Washington sent a letter to all SPS families that explained the district's policies and its duty to prevent discrimination under Title IX, which protects all students, including students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender from harassment and other forms of sexual discrimination.
"It's so important that we do communicate and be as transparent as possible," Washington said. "I just felt like it was time to at least give the facts of the situation ... I felt if we didn't address it, it would just be bigger as far as the non-truths ... It's a lot of 'I heard this.'"
All the district's kids deserve to be spoken about in an honest way, she said. and for the sake of the children, it's important to focus on problem solving as opposed to "us vs. them," she said, noting that people can be very cruel on social media. The district is trying to ensure that all students stay safe and enjoy their time in school.
It's also trying to avoid being dragged into political debates on what is a highly divisive issue.
"This is not politics," Washington said. "Children are not politics."
