Transgender issues under the spotlight at Peoria Unified

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

In recent months, two Peoria Unified governing board members and a group of speakers at school board meetings have voiced their concerns about a federal law that prohibits discrimination in schools.

More specifically, they have asked the board to address the part of the Title IX law that allows transgender students to use the bathroom they identify with, desiring bathrooms be gender binary, that is — either male or female.

What can be done remains unclear, but those with concerns will finally have an agenda item for public presentation and discussion.
Governing board attorney Lisa Anne Smith will make a public presentation, but a date has not yet been set.

Expressing concerns

Since before newly elected governing board member Heather Rooks was sworn in, she used the public comment section at school board meetings to voice her opinions on certain issues, including transgender students using the bathroom they identify with.

Governing board member Rebecca Hill has also requested a discussion on the topic.

Rooks said boys should not be allowed in the girls bathroom and vise versa. She also worries this could lead to a liability such as cisgender boys using the law as an excuse to go into a girl’s bathroom.

“We cannot let this continue with our young girls afraid to be in the bathroom at school,” Rooks said during public comment at the Oct. 27, 2022, board meeting.

District officials said no complaints have been filed regarding bathroom incidents involving transgender students, only concerns vocalized during the public comment sections at PUSD school board meetings.

Nikki Eancheff, parent of a female student at Liberty High School and an administrator of the West Valley Parents Uniting Facebook page, said allowing biological males to use female bathrooms or locker rooms makes her daughter extremely uncomfortable.

She said the transgender population at Liberty is minuscule compared with the cisgender population at Liberty and there is nothing about this application of Title IX in the school handbook or district website.

Eancheff claimed Title IX provides more rights and privacy and greater safety to transgender students at Liberty than the other students.

“When I send my daughter to school, I expect that when she goes into the girls restroom or uses the girls locker room, she is surrounded by girls and has a level of privacy. But that is not the case. I was not aware of it and my daughter was not aware of it,” Eancheff said at the Nov. 10, 2022, governing board meeting.

Discrimination

However, others feel the push against transgender students using the bathroom they identify is discriminatory.

Josh Gray, a PUSD parent and activist, said he understands transgender can be a confusing subject, but the language being tossed around in board meetings appears to be rooted in fear.

“The rhetoric around the whole bathroom conversation is really reminiscent to me of bigotry that was directed toward the LGBTQ community in the early ’90s towards gay and lesbian people. And frankly I find it disturbing,” Gray said during the Jan. 26 board meeting. “Times are changing and in light of this, the board needs to keep an open mind, not a closed one."

Trina Berg, a PUSD teacher of 23 years and former Peoria Education Association president, said most transgender students she has had use the nurses bathroom and that some students don’t want to use the school bathrooms because of incidences of vaping, sexual activity, and even assaults occasionally.

“Never have I heard a confirmed case in all my years in the district of it actually being a trans student attacking a cis/hetero student,” she said.

District response

The subject of Title IX was scheduled for an executive session, Feb. 23, when the governing board and staff could discuss it behind closed doors citing the need for legal advice on the subject, one of the allowed exemptions from public disclosure.

But in a turn of events, the board voted not to go into the executive session after comments from the public and other board members. A public presentation is now planned but a date has not yet been set.

Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions that receive federal aid, is found in the Education Amendments of 1972.

About 17,600 local school districts, more than 5,000 postsecondary institutions, and charter schools, for-profit schools, libraries, and museums receive federal aid, and that includes PUSD. The district receives federal funds for many different things. For example, PUSD received more than $60 million in ESSER funds, the allocation of money intended to help school districts and charter schools throughout the nation to provide relief, response, and recovery during the coronavirus pandemic.

However, district officials did not say what proportion of the budget comes from the federal government.

PUSD must operate its education program or activity in a nondiscriminatory manner free of discrimination based on sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, or it will not receive federal funding, according to the law.

PUSD spokeswoman Danielle Airey said if the district fails to do so, it may be in violation of Title IX and the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause, and funding could be revoked.

“Our principals work with students and families, and our human resources team works with employees, to provide the appropriate accommodations to ensure we are not violating anyone’s civil rights,” Airey said in a statement. “Peoria Unified will remain focused on creating a teaching and learning environment where all students feel known, valued and cared for at school and in the workplace.”

Changing the law

To change Title IX, Congress could amend it or the Supreme Court could hear a case and decide what it actually protects. Or the U.S. Department of Education could issue an interpretation, which has occurred and is now being challenged in court by 23 states.

In June 2021, the Department of Education issued an interpretation of Title IX based on a 2020 Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County. This interpretation included sexual orientation and gender identity in the definition of sex. However, in July 2022 a federal court in state of Tennessee vs. Department of Education, enjoined this definition from going into effect.

Nick Buzan, director of legal and policy services at Arizona School Boards Association, said essentially the federal court stopped the U.S. Department of Education from adding this to the law, so the department’s guidance is not in effect in Arizona at this time until another court says otherwise or the case is resolved.

There is a split in court cases across the nation as to whether Title IX includes sexual orientation and gender identity, Buzan said.

He added that bathroom cases have been resolved differently: In Oregon a school’s decision to permit students identifying as transgender to use the bathroom of their choice was upheld by the 9th Circuit. In Florida, a school’s decision to prohibit transgender youth from using the bathroom of their choice was upheld by the 11th Circuit.

“Currently the cases have already went to the levels where they may be reviewed by the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court has yet to decide the issue,” Buzan said.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.