It Is Nice To See Them Obey The Law

Last week there was a big brouhaha over a school district in Maine, they proposed a school policy for trans students and as you probably figured out already the conservatives crawled out of the woodwork.

Despite opposition from Christian group, Maine school district adopts transgender policy
Bangor Daily News
By Hadley Barndollar, Portsmouth Herald
June 6, 2018

KITTERY, Maine — Following a single staunch plea to the School Committee to kill a transgender policy proposal Tuesday night, parents and students then rivaled the opposition with powerful support, a committee member shed tears, and one mother added, “There is no room for hate in Kittery.”

The policy to support transgender and gender expansive students ultimately passed by an unanimous 6-0 vote after its second reading at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, with Chairwoman Julie Dow proclaiming, “I have never been more proud to be on the School Committee.”

The policy, researched and drafted by the district’s Policy Committee, states the Kittery School District will honor the wishes of the student when it comes to desired gender identification, name and pronouns. While the student’s official record will continue to bear their legal name, unless changed by a court order, the school district will use the student’s preferred name and pronouns on all other documents including school identification, classroom rosters, certificates, diplomas and yearbooks.

It was great that they passed unanimously but what they actually did was obey the law. They really had no choice if they didn’t approve the policy then they could be sued.

Of course there was vocal opposition…

Resident Susan Wiswell told the School Committee the policy “affirms the delusions of gender-confused children,” and would potentially allow “a biological male who claims to identify as a female to enter the girls’ locker room” to molest or rape a female student.

“What about her rights or dignity?” Wiswell said. “Are the majority of students who are not gender-confused expected to accept this violation?”

Wiswell said the “ill-conceived policy” is education malpractice. “More than half of our property tax goes to fund the schools,” she said. “We do not want to face the litigation costs. We will remember how this board votes when it comes to the polls.”

You know that there will probably be a legal challenge to the policy by the right-wing conservatives but the case has already been settled in the Maine Supreme Court.

Maine Supreme Court rules in favor of transgender girl in Orono school bathroom case
Bangor Daily News
By Judy Harrison
January 30, 2014

PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday guaranteed the right of a transgender child to use the school bathroom designated for the gender with which he or she identifies.

It is the first time any court in the nation has ruled it is unlawful to force a transgender child to use the school bathroom designated for the sex he or she was born with rather than the one with which the child identifies, according to the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders of Boston, which represented the girl and her family.

“This sends a message to my children that you can believe in the system,” Wayne Maines, the father of Nicole Maines, the girl at the center of the case, said Thursday afternoon in a conference call.

So the school board just followed the law and the courts.

BTW, last year I had dinner with Nicole and her mother after she spoke at the Transgender Health and Law Conference. She was our keynote speaker.