Wednesday July 27, 2016

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- The boys bathroom or the girl's room.

It can be hard to know which to use if you are a transgender student in a public school.

Kaden Jacobs with Richmond County says helping transgender students is nothing new for the school district.

"It's something that I think we have been doing successfully for years," said Jacobs.

That may be so, but back in May President Obama sent out a letter urging every school in the United States to let students go to the bathroom that reflects the gender they identify with.

Georgia State Superintendent Richard Woods pushed back against the directive releasing this statement to Superintendents across the state.

"I believe there are safety and privacy concerns associated with allowing students of different genders to use the same bathroom and locker rooms. For that reason, I do not believe a student of another gender should use a restroom or locker room alongside students of the opposite sex," said Woods.

"As this guidance does not have the force of law, you are not required to comply with this directive or make changes to your established actions and policies. However, if the federal government does decide to withhold federal funds, enforce this directive, or bring suit against any district in Georgia because of a decision a local district makes, we will work with all parties to take appropriate action," said Woods.

Richmond County, Columbia county and Aiken county in South Carolina did not make changes.

"Fortunately we didn't have to adapt much at all," said Jacobs.

Jacobs says under their non-discrimination policy they already help accommodate those students.

"When anything comes up, when a student identifies as transgender, the first thing we do is have a meeting with the school administrator with the parent and the child to address any of their concerns," said Jacobs.

Jacobs says every school has a unisex restroom that transgender students can use.

Whether they can use the bathroom they now identify with is more up in the air.

"That's one of those things we would have to do on a case by case basis. I don't know for sure and I can't say definitively what that would be. I do know that the unisex bathroom would probably be the preference. I can't say that we would or would not," said Jacobs.

We reached out to other schools too.

Columbia County Superintendent Dr. Sandra Carraway released a statement saying:

"The Columbia County School District seeks to provide all of its student with a safe, positive learning environment and experience while they attend school. As such, we attempt to respond promptly and effectively to all types of harassment, not just those outlined in the document.

Further, the guidance makes clear that schools can provide additional privacy options to any student for any reason. The guidance does not require any student to use shared bathrooms or changing spaces, when, for example, there are other appropriate options available. In our district, private facilities are made available to students who may have any specific need."

A spokesperson for Aiken County released this statement saying:

"We will continue to work with both parents and students on a situational basis to help ensure reasonable and timely accommodations for individuals as those needs are presented to us, while also maintaining respect for the rights of individual privacy held by all Aiken County students."