Five of 11 local school districts interviewed by this newspaper in September said they have had at least one student who identified as transgender or gender neutral.
DETAILS: Here’s how 3 Ohio school districts handled Obama’s transgender guidance
The guidelines issued in May told public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity, even if the student’s gender identity isn’t the same as what’s in the student’s record.
But a draft proposal circulated Wednesday throughout the Trump administration declared that the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education were “withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance” issued last year.
The draft, which is not final, said school administrators, parents and students have “struggled to understand and apply” the Obama administration guidance. But the draft also warned that “withdrawal of these guidance documents does not diminish the protections from bullying and harassment that are available to all students.
“Students must ensure that transgender students, like all students, are able to learn in a safe environment,” the draft says.
DETAILS: Source: Trump to lift transgender bathroom guidance
States-rights advocates argued the Obama administration guidance was overreach, even though it carried no force of law. Transgender advocates say it was necessary to protect students from discrimination. President Donald Trump believes the issue is for states to decide without the involvement of the federal government, the White House said.
The matter could trigger battles across the nation — and in Ohio — similar to the controversy in North Carolina in March, when state lawmakers passed a law saying people can only use public restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates. Republican state lawmakers in Ohio said they are monitoring the issue, and one said “our hands are tied” until the White House acts.
“There are ongoing discussions about what to do regarding this issue,” said state Rep. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg. “I believe men should use men’s bathrooms and women should use women’s bathrooms, and if someone identifies in that state we need to find a way to accommodate them with a unisex bathroom or a staff bathroom.”
Elizabeth, a transgender student at Rolling Hills Elementary School in Clark County, currently uses a staff bathroom in her school. Her mother, Katie Frank, said it’s always been her hope that once Elizabeth gets older and feels comfortable, she’ll be able to use the girls’ restroom just like her female friends.
“I would hope that when Elizabeth gets to that point, she’d have the same rights as any other girl,” Frank said.
Springfield City Schools say they plan to continue reviewing each situation as it comes up.
“We’ve worked on a case-by-case basis, so we just work with them individually… to work out a solution,” SCSD Superintendent Bob Hill said. “Letting the student choose which restroom feels most appropriate and most comfortable while at the same time respecting the privacy of other individuals.”
DETAILS: Kettering schools alters bathrooms in wake of transgender debate
Kettering Fairmont High School also plans no change in its current arrangement for bathrooms, the principal said Wednesday.
Last month, the Dayton Daily News reported the district added partitions inside boys’ bathrooms to separate the sinks and stalls area — the area a transgender boy would use — from the area that contains a row of four urinals.
Fairmont Principal Tyler Alexander said the school did not change any rules on restrooms, but “just altered them to create a more private environment for students.”
“I have not seen what President Trump’s administration has said, but we will continue to operate under the same polices we have had in place at Fairmont,” Alexander said in an email.
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Staff Writers Jeremy P. Kelley and Caroline Reinwald, and Jack Torry and Jessica Wehrman of the Washington Bureau contributed to this story.