Pickens County School Board in Georiga reversed their transgender policy after death threats were received by board members, staff, and students.
What We Know:
- The policy was first created on the back of a federal court ruling in Florida. Adams vs. St. John’s County gave the policy momentum. This case dealt with a Florida student who demanded to use the bathroom with the gender that correlated with what they identified as. The policy allowed transgender students to use the bathroom they identify as, according to CNN.
- Superintendent Carlton Wilson called an emergency meeting which reversed the policy. The school board stated “The District understands and acknowledges that it has the responsibility to protect its staff and students. However, the District has concerns that it may not be able to meet these recently increased demands”.
- The policy was controversial with parents who complained about it in an October 14 school board meeting. Parents argued that students would be unsafe if they have males in the girl’s bathrooms and females in the boy’s bathroom. Now, the reversal of this policy will cause transgender students to go back to using single-stall gender-neutral bathrooms.
The Florida school filed an appeal that is scheduled to make oral arguments in December.
