KINGSLEY – A bi-gender student attending school in a district close to Traverse City approached her school's board in April to request if she could use the restroom of her choice.
According to 9and10news.com, Kingsley Superintendent Keith Smith, Ph.D., says it's a sensitive issue that is larger than his school district.
"This issue is a lot bigger than Kingsley," Smith said to 9and10news. "This is an important issue that you want to make sure you understand and work through. Really, this is a civil rights issue."
The student informed the school board at an April meeting that she is bi-gender and wanted access to the bathroom of her choice. Smith and the school board have requested legal guidance on the matter and say the attorney should bring the board up to speed on the issue's gravity.
According to the news article, Smith says the school recognizes LGBT students but says it must also remain balanced.
The school has reached out to the student's family and is referencing multiple court rulings on trans bathroom access.
A proposed set of LGBT-inclusive guidelines for K-12 schools, authored by the Michigan Board of Education, would provide further assistance for schools considering LGBT-inclusive school and bathroom policies. The board is expected to make a decision on the guidelines sometime in August after weeding through the nearly 15,000 public comments that were submitted from March to April.
The proposed set of voluntary guidelines, introduced as a draft document March 11, urges schools to enact LGBT-inclusive policies and practices such as supporting the creation of a student-led gay-straight alliance club, furthering the development of policies aimed to protect LGBT students from harassment, providing professional development training for staff on how to address LGBT issues, and allowing trans and gender non-conforming students to use the bathroom of their choice.
Northern Michigan School System Seeks Guidance for Trans Students
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