Gifford Grade School Board Votes to Continue Protecting Transgender Athletes Amid Contentious School Board Meeting | Main stories

GIFFORD, Ill. (WAND) – The Gifford School Board held a special meeting to vote on the school board’s policy regarding equal educational opportunity and extracurricular athletics.

The Equal Opportunity and Gender Equality section of the Gifford High School Handbook states:

Equal educational and extracurricular opportunities are available to all students regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, religion, physical or mental disability, homelessness, immigration status, protected status, or actual or potential marital or parental status, including pregnancy. No student may be denied equal access to programs, activities, services, or benefits because of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, or be limited in any right, privilege, advantage, or denied equal access to educational and extracurricular programs and activities.

The council proposed an amendment that would require transgender athletes to compete in sports as their biological sex, not their gender identity.

Dozens of parents and community representatives attended the meeting. Several parents expressed concern about their children’s safety if they had to share locker rooms or bathrooms with transgender students. They were also concerned about the fairness of the competition if students had to play with transgender athletes.

Members of local LGBTQ groups said the policy change would be against the law.

Section 200.20 of the Illinois State Board of Education states: “It is the policy of the State of Illinois and the State Board of Education that no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of sex in any program or activity supported by school district funds. “

The Illinois State Board of Education released guidance on March 1, 2020 titled “Supporting Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming Students.” It says:

The Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) considers it a violation of a school’s civil rights to “[d]prohibit or deny another the full and equal enjoyment of amenities, goods, or services” based on gender identity or other protected status.

The school board said the discussion should only focus on policy, not specific students. However, one parent, Stephanie Williams, shared that her daughter was the reason behind the proposed policy change. Her daughter is a cheerleader and transgender.

She made a statement to the board and told WAND in an interview that she is happy her daughter can continue to be involved in cheer leadership as she wanted.

“There are a lot of people who support them and we’re thankful that the Gifford school board came out tonight and supported us well and that the policy will remain the same and people can go about business as usual,” Williams said.

Copyright 2022. WAND TV. All rights reserved.