Community members flooded a Jordan School District Board meeting today to comment on what bathrooms transgender students in the district should be allowed to use.
The issue arose after Alison, a trans girl at Fox Hollow Elementary School, started using the girls’ restroom. The school's policy had previously been for trans students to use private restrooms.
Some parents and community members opposed the idea, saying girls shouldn’t have to share a bathroom with “boys,” by which they meant transgender girls. Natalie Cline, a Utah State Board of Education member, opposed on similar grounds, speaking for herself and not on behalf of the Board of Education. Cline has been vocally anti-LGBTQ+ in the past, making social media posts in July that said schools are complicit in “grooming children” and “brainwashing them into queer, gender-bending ideologies."
Opponents also voiced concerns that allowing trans students to use the bathroom they identified with could lead to sexual harassment or assault. Notably, law enforcement agencies and sexual assault advocates in states and cities with trans-inclusive bathroom policies have denied this is an issue. A recent study also found no evidence for trans-inclusive bathroom policies increasing safety risks.
Other community members, including Alison’s father, said trans students just wanted to feel safe and accepted. Alison’s father said it had nothing to do with politics or being “woke,” and that his daughter simply feels more comfortable using the girls’ restroom.
Equality Utah, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, urged the school to accommodate trans students’ needs and noted that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination and harassment related to sex or gender in schools, includes trans youth under the current administration.
The Jordan School District’s board listened to all public comments but didn’t provide an immediate response. They did release a statement asserting they are compliant with Title IX federal law and work with individual families to provide a safe environment for every student.
