Local school district officials have chosen not to accept a group petition asking for the new anti-discrimination plan to be amended to protect trans and gender-extended students, claiming that the proposed change could lead to harassment and discrimination.
A former trainer spearheaded a petition drive to stop a provision of the Maine School Administrative District 75 plan that requires teachers, administrators, and students to speak to transgender students using their preferred names and pronouns. The area covers Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin, and Bowdoinham.
Elizabeth Brooks, a former substitute teacher and paraprofessional with MSAD 75, who resigned in November after the class committee approved the anti-discrimination policy, which went into effect on February 2, created the complaint.
At a meeting of the state’s Board of Directors on Thursday, March 28, table Chair Hutson Hayward, of Bowdoinham, said he sought legal counsel regarding the complaint from the state’s attorneys and was advised never to make the requested shift.
According to Hayward, “intentionally using incorrect pronouns or brands of kids or workers may be considered illegal abuse and/or bias based on their gender identity” and fall under this category under both the district’s and state and federal laws.
“The district’s policy on this problem is even consistent with the roles of the Maine Department of Education, Maine Human Rights Commission, and design guidelines of the Maine School Management Association,” he added.
Brooks, of Topsham, collected names on March 5 at Mt. Topsham High School, which was used as the voting place for the Democratic and Republican presidential elections that day.
The complaint concentrates on a section of the district legislation that mandates that students, faculty, and employees use their preferred nouns when referring to transgender and gender-explicit students.
“(The policy) is a direct affront to students’ (First) Amendment rights,” the petition states. “With this plan, every pupil from elementary to high school is required to adhere to an individual’s chosen verb ideology. Please sign the petition below if you and your child want to defend the (First) Amendment and their right to free speech.”
It’s questionable how many names Brooks collected. She has declined interviews, but her Nov. 17 withdrawal email, obtained from the university district, cites her intellectual opposition to the anti-bias plan.
According to Brooks, the district’s decision to accommodate transgender students “is crossing a dangerous boundary” and creating a hostile environment for those who oppose “allowing this age-appropriate topic into our schools.”
The district policy’s stated goal is to guide faculty and staff in their efforts to “foster a learning environment that is safe and free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying” and “assist in the educational and social integration of transgender and gender-extended students” in local schools.
It provides a framework for accommodating students who adopt a different gender identity from the one given to them at birth and defines pertinent terms. For instance, the policy advises school personnel to arrange to meet with these students and, if necessary, to create plans that are appropriate for their particular circumstances and needs.
It recommends that teachers address trans students with their preferred names and pronouns and allow them to use the restrooms, locker rooms, and other areas that most closely correspond with their gender identity.
Its passage came after a lot of heated debate and a few amendments, particularly those involving parents’ privacy rights and students’ privacy. Throughout its development, the draft policy alternated between versions emphasizing different priorities. The final version attempts to balance the two competing issues.
The majority of the policy’s language, including the use of preferred pronouns, was written in accordance with the Maine Civil Rights Act’s interpretation by state courts. Transgender people are a protected class under state law, according to the courts in the state of Maine.
Being transgender was once thought of as a psychological disorder ten years ago, but now the American Psychiatric Association says it represents a natural variation of human diversity.
A groundbreaking 2018 study from the American Medical Association found that transgender youth who were given the right to use accurate names and pronouns had 71% fewer symptoms of severe depression, a 34% decrease in suicide attempts, and a 65% decrease in suicide attempts.
Do you have news to share? Email J. Craig Anderson at [email protected].
