Even though it wasn’t on the agenda, the issue of transgender students using school bathrooms was discussed
On Tuesday, about 300 people lined up in the parking lot of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s headquarters. Some were wrapped in rainbow flags, and others were carrying Bibles.
After a disturbance at a previous meeting, they came to watch six public delegations talk about transgender students using school bathrooms. and even though it wasn’t on the schedule for that evening.
“People who are trans are not scary. They are individuals, “Natasha Bridgen, who has a transgender child, said through tears as she stood in line.
“We’re here to make sure that my child and his or her friends can go to school and feel safe, don’t feel threatened, don’t have to deal with violence or bullying, and can go to the bathroom. In any bathroom, they need to go to the bathroom.”
According to the website of the board, “All students have the right to use the bathrooms and other facilities that they feel most comfortable with. This includes “boys,” “girls,” and facilities for everyone.”
It and other local boards that have been criticized in the same way have used the Ontario Human Rights commission and code to defend these rights.
As some people chanted “trans rights are human rights” and others yelled “may God bless you,” the crowd slowly moved toward the building’s door, but many were left outside.
Monday, the school board announced new safety rules that meant only 75 people could get in.
Four police cars were already parked outside the building before the meeting on Tuesday. In a statement, the English public board said that officers were there to “monitor the situation and help as needed” and that anyone who wanted to attend a meeting would have to sign in.
All of this comes after the last board meeting, which was on March 7.
Nick Morabito, who has four kids, talked about how worried he was about his 12-year-old daughter’s safety when she shared a bathroom with a transgender person.
Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a member of the school board, stopped him from talking after only a minute.
“Because this makes people who don’t identify with one gender feel unsafe, I’m going to have to ask you to end your delegation,” she told them.
Then, a small group of people started making noise, which made the board call the police.
Morabito was given another chance to speak at the meeting on Tuesday.
He insisted that he did not come from a place of “hostility, bigotry, or transphobia.” He also said that his daughter and other students feel unsafe and that the school board’s inclusive washroom policy invades their privacy.
Last fall, Shannon Boschy, who was running for school board trustee, asked for an apology for “silencing” Morabito.
Boschy has compared non-binary genders to a disorder and blamed Ontario’s sex education curriculum for the rise in transgender and non-binary students. He also got about six times fewer votes in his zone than transgender Lyra Evans, who was elected as a trustee.
At the meeting on Tuesday, the other four delegations argued against those points.
“We are called groomers, predators, and violent,” said Andy Boschy, Shannon’s transgender son. People say that we cut off parts of children and put women in danger. All this just for being alive and living our lives like everyone else.
“We need to make sure that students are safe and respected.”
Most of the people at the meeting cheered loudly when he finished speaking.
Frances McRae said she was there because she was a parent of two non-binary children.
She used information from a number of sources to show that transgender youth are often bullied more than other kids because they are different and fear for their safety.
She said in an interview, “As adults, we really need to make decisions about policies, programs, and inclusion that are based on real facts and evidence about who is afraid.”
She also said, “There’s no proof that trans people or 2SLGBTQIA+ people are predators.”
“We sometimes forget that these rules are for kids, including trans kids. They are scared, “Phoebe Qiao, who is transgender, said this. “I know because I had to live with my parents even though I was gay just two years ago.”
Qiao told CBC News in an interview that she thought the night went well after the public delegation.
She said, “Allies, trans people, and queer people in general came out in droves to show support.”
“It’s a sign of strength for our community that we won’t stand for things like this.”
Outside, the crowd kept chanting while the police looked on.