Moses Lake SD board approves state-required transgender policy

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School Board approved the addition of a policy governing district response to transgender students at the regular board meeting Thursday. A policy covering the issue is required per state law.

“This is a requirement; our legal counsel is advising us to approve it,” Moses Lake Superintendent Monte Sabin said. “I know there are some strong feelings on both sides of this, but the law exists.”

Board members Susan Freeman and Paul Hill voted against the measure in a 3-2 vote.

Sabin brought the policy to the board at the Oct. 13 meeting, saying it had been discussed in June and July 2021, but that the board had not taken action. Hill and board member Alana DeGooyer asked for more information before taking a vote. Freeman asked if the proposed policy could be added to the district’s already-existing non-discrimination policy. That already included transgender students, she said.

“It was brought to my attention that when this was a topic (in 2021) that there was a different version that was created for the board,” Sabin said. “So I reached out to our legal counsel, and he said he did not assist the school district last year with any other document, but he did share with me a policy and procedure that their law firm crafted for school districts back in 2019, that represented the minimum requirements of the law. As I shared that (with the board) you could see that (policy) was a lot different than the other version from the previous meeting.”

During the discussion that followed Sabin’s review, Hill said he thought the existing non-discrimination policy would meet state critieria with some revision.

“My personal feeling is, we don’t need specific special policies for specific special segments of our population,” Hill said. “We don’t tolerate harassment or bullying of any kind, against any person. I think we should look at adding the specific minimum verbiage that’s required (under state law).”

Freeman said the board revised the district’s non-discrimination policy in 2017.

“It includes gender-inclusive language. We did not alter it, we did not take that out. Many school districts did take that out, and that is what prompted this specific law to be written to put a deadline on making that inclusion,” Freeman said. “We were ahead of the game.”

However, she said, the procedures that go along with the policy hadn’t been updated. That’s not part of the board’s job, she said, but she thought the procedures should be reviewed and changed if necessary before the board voted on the policy.

DeGooyer said the impression that board members had already made up their minds was erroneous.

“Hopefully every person in this room and every person in the community wants children to feel safe, valued, respected, all those other positive things,” she said. “That definitely includes your school board.”

Board chair Kevin Fuhr, who i also the Moses Lake Police Chief said the district was, in his opinion, required to pass a separate policy.

“I’m in the law and justice business, I’m in the business of following the law,” Fuhr said. “Whether I like them or not, I follow state law.”

In his opinion the MLSD attorney had provided an acceptable alternative policy.

“He gave us the necessary language to make us compliant with the law and fit our needs,” Fuhr said.

During his presentation Sabin reviewed parts of the policy, saying there was some erroneous information out in the community.

“One of the areas that people were really concerned about is whether parents would be able to have knowledge that their student is choosing to be referred to by different pronouns,” Sabin said. “Absolutely that will be communicated with the family.”

Sabin said it would be treated like other sensitive situations.

“We would have a conversation with the student on how best to approach that with their parents. Definitely that communication would take place.”

Parents will have the right to access their children’s records, he said.

The law requires schools to accommodate students when it comes to using the bathroom and locker rooms, Sabin said.

“We’ve already been making accommodations for students. We have great people in our buildings, we have great staff, and we’ve been handling those situations appropriately and really being sensitive to the needs of the students.”

Catching up

Washington state law requires school districts to adopt policies for gender inclusivity. Most Grant and Adams county school boards approved those policies in 2020 and 2021.

Royal School Board members adopted a policy in March 2020. The Othello School Board approved a policy in October 2020, and the Ephrata and Wilson Creek school boards in December 2020. The Wahluke School Board approved a policy in June 2021.

Quincy School Board members updated the district’s procedures in April 2022.

For more information on the state regulations related to this issue in schools, visit the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction website at bit.ly/3DHKqmS.