Mat-Su School Board votes to rescind gender-identity use of bathrooms

In a 5-1 vote, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board (MSBSD) restricted the use of restrooms and changing areas to the exclusive use of students’ biological sex as identified at the time of birth.

While the board was nearly unanimous in their vote, public comments prior to the vote was unanimous in opposition. Some voicing a need for safe spaces for LGBTQ students as many have expressed they do not feel safe within their homes or other spaces.

Parent Laura Carlson accused the board of exploiting parents’ fear to keep their students safe and that the policy has nothing to do with safety or sports.

“Don’t not use our children as a battlefield for your agenda, or us as your pawns,” said Carlson.

Mike Garvey of the Alaska ACLU gave testimony stating that the ACLU stands with current students, recent graduates, and their families as they have come forward at recent MSBSD meetings following the announcement of the rescinding of transgender bathrooms in schools, saying, “We stand with them and urge support to listen to the human impact with compassion. This feels like we’ve gone back in time to when states and jurisdictions across the country attempted to pass similar policies. Almost every court that took up this policy struck it down.”

Garvey went on to say that effects of this policy are “particularly frightening” in light of the board’s policy of eliminating transgender sports participation earlier this year.

“School boards have a duty to ensure all students can learn in a safe and harassment-free environment, including transgender students who are especially vulnerable to harassment and discrimination,” Garvey said.

Others expressed that this may not be the most pressing issue for the Board to be addressing:

“Schools across Alaska can barely provide bus service, barely provide hot meals, and facilities are falling apart. We have many, many real issues, but accepting trans students is not one of them,” said David Song.

“Transgender people have always lived in our society,” he noted.

It wasn’t only the parents and concerned family members who spoke out against the MSBSD policy.

“Every day at school for transgender children and non-binary students, bathrooms are a minefield. Every trip is a reminder that we’re not normal. It’s an agonizing internal argument-‘what bathroom do I want to use-the wrong bathroom or risk getting stared at or bullied?’ “said Morgan Klemmer, a trans student within the Borough.

Klemmer went on to say that a policy like this would only further stigmatize transgender students as being different or unusual.

“Letting us use the bathroom is such a tiny, tiny thing but means so much to so many people that it doesn’t affect cis kids, except to perhaps make them more empathetic. (Using the bathroom) should not be a privilege,” Klemmer said.

When the policy change moved to MSBSD member discussion, Dwight Probasco offered an amendment to the policy that would have included adding “gender neutral bathrooms” in the language.

“A reasonable accommodation shall be accessed to single-occupancy ‘or gender neutral restroom or changing room,’” Probasco amened, but did not receive a second and the motion did not advance.

“I believe that a person’s gender identity they should be allowed to use the bathroom or changing room of the gender they identify with. Back in September when presented with the action to suspend our transgender students (from participating on teams they identify with), I said then that all students should be treated with compassion, privacy, dignity, and fair and positive outcomes. I do believe this policy is built on sand, and I do not believe it will stand the test of time,” Probasco said.

He went on to say that he believes the decision will come down to the courts, calling on two groundbreaking Supreme Court decisions.

“It speaks to the Plessy V Ferguson, over 100 years ago, which established separate but equal decision. And I do believe we will have a Brown V Education decision on this for our transgender population,” he said.

The highly sensitive nature of the policy spilled over during after the policy passed in a 5-1 vote and audience members made angry outbursts, calling board members “bigots” and “cowards” at which time, Ponder called for a recess to de-escalate the tensions.

Frontiersman reporter Katie Stavick contributed to this report.