Members of the Alpena Public School district came together Monday evening to speak out against a bathroom policy the school board is considering.
The policy would require students to use the restroom marked for the gender they were biologically assigned at birth. The idea came from the Fairview Area Schools Physical Privacy Policy. Some board members say they want to get ahead of an executive order that says same-sex spaces should remain separate based off biological gender.
Julie Burns was the only community member to speak in favor of the policy, stating it as "excellent and [the board] should adopt it."
The school board has already received opinions from two different law firms about the policy, stating that a lack of a bathroom policy does not violate the law. They have also received a five-page letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warning the board this policy would violate state civil rights laws.
The civil rights law in question is Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against housing, education, access to public accommodations, and employment based on "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status".
Yvonne Johnson is a 1989 APS graduate. She stood up in front of the board to argue against the policy. "Let's set aside the red versus blue and get practical. I call this a non-issue because all of Alpena Public Schools have a single person bathroom. This is a solution in search of a problem," Johnson said.
Alpena High School Student Counsel President Lucy Cook also spoke during the public comment period. She says bathrooms are a non-issue in the schools, and that no gender-based bathroom incidents have occurred that warrant a change in policy.
"This policy is impossible to enforce without violating student's privacy and created an uncomfortable situation for both students and staff," Cook said. "There are more prominent issues within our district that we should focus on rather than allowing politics and personal agendas to infiltrate our school.
I hope that in the future the student counsel can work in conjunction with the school board to make more positive changes within the district that will create a more welcoming and inclusive school environment."
Board President Anna Meinhardt stated she was unsure why they were entertaining the policy, considering the executive order is pending in two separate courts.
The board agreed to allow for a third legal opinion on the policy after some back-and-forth between members.
