School District U-46’s Policy Allowing Gender-Dsyphoric Boys to Use Girls Locker Room Challenged

If you live in School District U-46, please pay special attention.

Written by John Biver

U-46 School Board Member Jeanette Ward is providing the kind of leadership that we need to see a lot more of in Illinois. And on April 4th, there’s an opportunity to support two other like-minded candidates running to join Jeanette on the U-46 school board: Cody Holt and Enoch Essendrop.

Cody Holt and Enoch Essendrop have the endorsement of Illinois Family Action.

With Jeanette’s permission, we are posting a video of the 2/27/2017 school board meeting and her statement to the board.

Here is Jeanette Ward:

From 1:07:37 to 1:26:35, view last night’s U-46 BOE member exchange that resulted from the attached statement I made regarding locker room and bathroom access by members of the opposite sex in U-46. I was accused of “trying to perpetuate discrimination,” to which I responded, “if you are going to make the argument that it’s discriminatory [to separate locker rooms and bathrooms according to sex], then any person of any sex should be able to access any bathroom at will, arguing that ‘you can’t discriminate against me.’”

Also, according to one board member, those who came out to speak against this practice last year “do not have a vested interest in this district.” Is that what you believe, parents and citizens of U-46? Elections are on April 4 and the positions of all board members, four of whom support access of private spaces by members of the opposite sex, and two of that group who are seeking reelection, were made very clear last night.

My statement on Transgender Bathroom/Locker room issue in U-46:

On Wednesday February 22, President Trump’s administration revoked Obama’s unconstitutional “Dear Colleague” directive to public schools upon which U-46 partially relied when they changed restroom and locker room practices last September. The controversial change in practice, of which I informed the public, permits gender-dysphoric students to access restrooms and locker rooms of opposite-sex students.

Note well that the attempt to use Title IX to justify the practice of allowing gender-dysphoric students access to the private spaces of opposite-sex students ignored the fact that Title IX specifically states that schools are permitted to maintain separate restrooms and locker rooms for boys and girls. A three-judge 4th Circuit Court panel has upheld that interpretation of Title IX.

What is ironic in this controversy is that Mr. Sanders said if students were not comfortable sharing restrooms or locker rooms with opposite-sex students, the school would allow them to use single-occupancy staff restrooms (but only after they express their concerns to the principal). So, if a gender-dysphoric boy is not comfortable sharing private spaces with peers of his same-sex, he may access opposite-sex facilities, but if girls are not comfortable sharing private spaces with a boy, they must use single-occupancy staff restrooms.

Why should a gender-dysphoric boy, for example, be allowed to use restrooms and locker rooms only with persons who share his “gender identity,” while the rest of students are not allowed to use restrooms and locker rooms only with persons who share their sex?

Since Obama’s unconstitutional “Dear Colleague” letter can no longer be used to justify allowing de facto co-ed restrooms and locker rooms, I would like to see us craft a policy that protects the privacy and safety of all students. Specifically I would like to see gender-dysphoric students’ privacy and safety protected by allowing them to use private, single-occupancy staff bathrooms with fully locking doors. I would like to see the privacy and safety of the rest of the student body protected by allowing them to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their biological sex. It should NEVER occur (as it did last September) that a student is permitted access to restrooms and locker rooms of opposite-sex students, and such information is withheld from the parents of the other students.

Policies and practices that allow gender-dysphoric students to access the private spaces of opposite-sex students teach all students the lie that objective, immutable sex has no intrinsic meaning, particularly with regard to modesty and privacy. And such policies and practices teach all students the lie that inclusivity and compassion require them to give up their privacy.

On the ballot will be candidates for municipal, township, park district, school board and other local governing bodies. Conservatives must show up and vote to support candidates like Cody Holt and Enoch Essendrop. Early voting for the April 4th Consolidated Election has already begun in some counties. Contact your county election authority for details.

Learn More:

Click HERE to connect to your local election authority for ballot information, early voting options and polling place locations.

If you live in Elementary School District 15 and/or High School District 211, click HERE.

If you live in Elementary School District U-46, click HERE.

For much more information on the bathroom/locker room issue, click HERE.

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