Cheney school board tables non-discrimination policy

Saying they needed more information and public input, the Cheney School Board voted at its Nov. 12 regular meeting to table adoption of an updated non-discrimination policy. The policy included new language recommended by the Washington State School Directors Association regarding inclusive approaches for transgender students such as confidential health and education information, sports and physical education and access to restroom and locker room facilities.

Public comment at the meeting centered on the language regarding facilities. Steve Hetrick, who said he spoke not in his position as pastor of the Cheney Community Church but as a parent and someone who has taught ethics classes, told the board the policy changes will create difficult working situations for the district’s staff as well as potential trouble.

“We have begun to see this creep into school districts around the state,” Hetrick said.

Hetrick added that adopting the policy would create “character hypocrisy” for staff and students.

“Whereas on one hand you uphold that integrity and character counts, and that right behavior matters, on the other hand this suggests that moral character doesn’t count and moral behavior relating to the most self-evident truth of all, our natural gender, doesn’t matter,” he said.

The policy also sends a message that “if we just say that any kind of sexual or gender expression is okay, then no one will have to feel bad about it.” Hetrick said he believes the policy is unenforceable, adding he emailed staff at the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) about the policy and had received a reply that district’s do not have to adopt the complete policy and can choose to apply what’s necessary.

Hetrick asked the board to hold off adopting the policy to further consider its implementation and the complexity of the issue.

Rick Hoard, pastor of the Hayford Community Church, told the board he believed the policy would “accelerate student sexual abuse if transgender students are allowed to use opposite facilities.” Hoard said individuals working at Airway Heights Corrections Center told him that facility experienced an increase in sexual assaults when a roughly similar policy was recently implemented.

Hoard also said he’d like to see district personnel and the public become better informed about the issue, stating his discussions with people lead him to believe the Cheney community would be against the policy.

Cheney resident Dinah Jarms said she understands how transgender students might feel, noting that she was bulled as a youth.

“My heart set is to love my neighbors as myself,” Jarms said.

But she also expressed concerns about the potential for increased assaults as well as for litigation. Jarms said she agrees more information needs to be gathered on the issue, and suggested the possibility of building “asexual bathrooms” with one toilet to accommodate one person at a time.

Kaylene Campbell spoke in favor of the policy, noting that with equality issues, something that is now a suggestion will in five years become a requirement. She questioned the assertion sexual assaults will increase based upon information from similar situations in prisons.

“In prison, who is assaulting who?” Campbell asked. “These kids are being harassed and abused already. And it’s not transgender on transgender, it’s gender-normal assaulting transgender.”

District Associate Superintendent Sean Dotson said the language changes are meant to avoid litigation as well as reduce harassment. Dotson said the policy is not intended to promote a specific behavior.

“Our policy is to promote what’s best for students,” Dotson said, adding he has worked with students in the district who the policy would apply to.

In an email, Dotson said no timeline has been set for bringing the policy back before the board or what process the district will institute to gather public input.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].