Menasha schools enact transgender nondiscrimination policy

MENASHA – The Board of Education unanimously approved a policy Monday that will allow transgender and gender nonconforming students to use restrooms of the gender they identify with.

School board president Joe Lingnofski said the board members had concerns early in the policy adoption process, but their fears were quelled after the administration presented the first draft.

"If you thoroughly read the policy it addresses the concerns we've brought up with regard to other students, so I think we ended up with a real fair, well-thought-out policy to protect all students," he said.

About 40 community members attended the meeting at Maplewood Middle School. Six spoke in favor of the policy and two spoke against it.

Transgender people identify with a different gender than the one their biological sex assigned them at birth. Gender nonconforming people express their gender in ways that differ from prevailing social expectations.

The administration drafted the policy after a Menasha High School student and her family asked for accommodations. That student, senior Rowan Saecker, was the first person to address the board during the public comment portion of the meeting.

"Last year and the year before, actually, I had seriously bad depression … I was sleeping for hours on-end every day. I would just go home and sleep. I would stress-eat all the time," she said. "That honestly didn't get better until I realized that the community was respecting me and respecting my rights and respecting who I am.

"So I feel like as a policy, this is incredibly important to give kids who may be depressed or even suicidal that kind of opportunity to stand up and speak out for themselves and say 'I'm transgender and I need to use this for my own mental and personal safety,'" Saecker said.

Under the new policy, students can use the restrooms for the gender they identify with if they have "held the belief deeply, followed the belief consistently over a period of time, is supported by (a) parent or guardian, and … has sought guidance or counseling in coming to the decision."

The policy also lays out how privacy, names, pronouns and records should be handled for transgender or gender nonconforming students.

Students can also participate in physical education and intramural sports "consistent with the gender identity that the student regularly asserts." Competitive sports fall under the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, which has its own policy for transgender and gender nonconforming students.

Superintendent Chris VanderHeyden said the school district will now focus on educating staff members and students to ensure the policy is implemented smoothly.

— Jen Zettel: 920-993-1000, ext. 539, or jzettel@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @jenzettel