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Transgender bathroom kerfuffle creates political theatre

Eric Cravey
Posted 5/25/16

FLEMING ISLAND – While not on the official agenda, the privacy of transgender students in the Clay County School District was a lengthy topic of discussion at the school board’s May 19 …

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Transgender bathroom kerfuffle creates political theatre


Posted

FLEMING ISLAND – While not on the official agenda, the privacy of transgender students in the Clay County School District was a lengthy topic of discussion at the school board’s May 19 meeting.

Fifteen residents spoke in support of the May 13 letter issued by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education that offered only guidance on how public schools can ensure the safety and protection of transgender students in providing access to bathrooms and locker rooms. Meanwhile, six attendees spoke supporting Clay County School Superintendent Charlie Van Zant Jr.’s May 16 robocall and YouTube video in which he pledged to not follow the federal guidelines. Yet in the same message, Van Zant gave confusing assurance that students who need “special accommodations” will be handled properly at each district school.

Members of the Fleming Island High Gay-Straight Alliance described Van Zant’s call to parents as hurtful and discriminatory.

“Not only was this hateful, it was placing your personal religious and political views into this secular school. There is no place for this type of bigotry in my school or in other school in this county. This type of indoctrination is unacceptable and should not be put into our schools. Sir, this is a public school, a melting pot of students and diversity should be celebrated. This school is not meant to be a breeding ground for this type of blatant hatred,” said Caro Barkowitz, president of the GSA.

Barkowitz said students should not have to out themselves to administrators simply to be able to use the bathroom.

Several students complained they had been blocked and their comments deleted from Facebook after attempting to respond to Van Zant’s phone call and video. So, they took to the school board meeting to voice their concerns.

Christian Like, vice president of the GSA said Van Zant’s message not only attacked trans children, it attacked their families for simply loving and supporting their children.

“Numerous trans students clearly heard the underlying message of not feeling welcomed inside Clay County Schools. When the called discussed traditional family values as if they were superior to untraditional family values, Charlie Van Zant attacked both those families that contain and support trans students, as well as any other families that do not fall under the traditional family umbrella. This is both hurtful and harmful to these students and their families as they feel discriminated against for being themselves,” Like said.

Despite the transgender issue being used as what was described as a political wedge issue, teachers, as well as School Board Member Carol Studdard said that transgender students’ privacy has been handled properly and professionally for at least two decades in Clay County. Many agreed that Van Zant’s message is a non-issue because, despite the rhetoric, teachers are going to protect the students first.

“There’s no need to make this a political football now,” said Renna Lee Paiva, president of the Clay County Education Association. “There is absolutely no need. Mr. Obama is not sending the bathroom police to Clay County, he has other things on his plate. We have to comply. We have unisex bathrooms all over the place and we take care of our own. These are our children, every one of them and you have an obligation of this school board to protect every one of them. We don’t do it by percentages.”

The controversy became enflamed on May 16 when Van Zant stoked a fire saying that the school district was not going to follow the new federal guidance, but also went on to contradict himself in the video by saying that students’ needs would be taken care of. His remarks led to a packed board room at the Teacher Training Center at Fleming Island High.

“Where an individual requires special accommodations, discretion and sound judgment will be used by our school-based personnel and those school officials will guide our efforts to meet those students’ needs,” Van Zant said.

His video and overall response to the federal guidance has even drawn the attention of the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, which has reviewed Van Zant’s public statements and also wrote a legal opinion that was presented to Van Zant and board members by Dan Merkan, director of policy at the Jacksonville-based nonprofit JASMYN, the Jacksonville Area Sexual Youth Minority Network. He said the new federal guidelines were not developed in a vacuum.

“This is not something that we really can dispute anymore and so, if you don’t follow the guidelines, you’re opening yourselves up to lawsuits and you’re also creating an unsafe environment for those young people who are transgender who have to have access just like any other student to a full education and to the resources and accommodations available to them within schools, which include restrooms and locker rooms,” Merkan said.

For years, JASMYN has provided community-based education to educators and LGBT youth through its “Safe Place” program, which ensures students will not be bullied or singled out for being different. One of those teachers is Orange Park High Science Teacher Bobbi McDermott.

“Are there statistics available to support such a stand? Is there a history of problems arising specifically from non-heterosexual students entering the restroom or locker rooms of their choice? It seems that this is a non-issue presently in Clay County. While Clay County Schools do stand in compliance with Title IX, we want to be sure I can tell my students they are in a safe place where they will not be bullied, but they may wish for a return to former times when bullying was much more common, but I’d have to send them out to the superintendent’s office for that,” McDermott said.

Board members nor Van Zant responded to speakers’ comments, as is common practice when attendees speak on issues that are not on the posted school board agenda, therefore, no action was taken.

In other business:

The board voted 3-2 to continue the contract with lobbyist firm Southern Strategies Group. Board members Janice Kerekes and Carol Studdard voted no with Kerekes saying that hiring a lobbyist is, under state statutes, one of the few roles that are solely the school board’s not the superintendent’s. Meanwhile, those who support paying the $20,000 a month pointed out that the firm was able to secure $1 million in new funding for the district this year. Van Zant has yet to provide a specific list of how those funds will be spent.

The board also voted 3-2 to approve spending $547,000 in the next five years to equip each district school bus with GPS systems. Voted down two previous years, board member Betsy Condon said she had found that Alachua County was able to increase its state FTE funding per student because a similar system there allowed the district to count students more accurately. The system cannot go into place until its implementation goes through bargaining with the Clay Educational Support Personnel Association, the union representing bus drivers and other staff.