The subject of transgender students using Peoria Unified School District restrooms and locker rooms has been a lightning rod at district school board meetings for months, and it came to an apparent culmination April 27 after a heated discussion on both sides.
In front of a crowded chamber, and after the public comment as well as board discussion, governing board member Rebecca Hill motioned for staff to prepare a first draft of a facility use policy for PUSD student bathrooms and locker rooms.
The motion failed, with President David Sandoval and governing board members Melissa Ewing and Bill Sorensen dissenting.
Ostensibly, this means the issue of transgender students in bathrooms and locker rooms at the district will no longer be a consideration before the board, at least in terms of policy.
Sandoval and Ewing said transgender students at PUSD are already being provided accommodation and a policy would violate student rights.
Additionally, a policy likely would open up the district to lawsuits due to Title IX, the federal law that allows transgender students to use the bathroom they identify with, they said.
“The way this line item reads, it pits people against people and that is something I absolutely cannot support,” Sandoval said. “Now, I can support a conversation around solutions for our facilities, but when we talk about ‘every student every day,’ and making sure that all our students have an equitable opportunity to be successful, this policy definitely alienates part of our student population.”
But Hill said what about alienating the female part of the student population?
“We are putting that one person over everyone else. I have been to the schools, I have talked to the parents, I have talked with the kids, I have talked with Liberty kids who are crying, who are begging me to set policy to protect them,” Hill said. “This is all about biology, I’ll bring it back to that. I don’t care about the feelings, I don’t care about how they identify. This is a biological issue.”
Former Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas, who spoke during the public comment section, took issue with the way this item was agendized.
She said Rooks already provided a draft policy about bathroom privacy requesting it be put on the agenda, instead Superintendent Jason Reynolds and Sandoval published this item on the agenda, Douglas said.
“How the board has dragged its feet on this decision is reprehensible,” she said.
Since before Rooks was elected and 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. Rooks has said it it is a privacy and safety issue for girls.
She has also rallied some parents to speak about the issue at school board meetings.
However, 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.
Trina Berg, a PUSD teacher of 23 years and former Peoria Education Association president, said most transgender students she has had use the nurse's bathroom and that some students don’t want to use the school bathrooms because of incidences of vaping, sexual activity, and even assaults occasionally.
At the meeting, she said the situation puts the board in a quandary because it puts them in the situation to be sued on both sides.
She added that policy based on religions beliefs does not belong in a public school, and that the district needs to welcome all students.
“We have to always be thinking about the possibility of sexual assault, but to think for a second that you are more likely to be assaulted by a trans person is disgusting. That is not accurate information in any way shape or form. You are more likely to be sexually assaulted, molested or whatever by a straight man. It sounds to me like we are really concerned about the behavior of men, and the behavior of boys. They need to be taught to control their biological urges,” Berg said. “We should not be demonizing a group of students who are just trying to survive and live. And they were not groomed or indoctrinated to become gay or lesbian just as you were not indoctrinated to become straight. That is not a thing. Let’s be honest, if that were true, then we’d only have straight people.”
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@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.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here