MLSD suspends protections for trans students

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake School District school board suspended policy 3211, which protects transgender students from harassment, intimidation and bullying, at the March 20 regular board meeting.  

The board also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education asking for federal intervention for the contradictions between federal and state laws and policies regarding transgender students in athletics, bathrooms and dressing rooms.  

“The biggest thing that (the policy suspension) is going to do is keep biological boys out of female sports and out of girls' private dressing rooms and restrooms,” Board Chair Kirryn Jensen told the Columbia Basin Herald.  

MLSD district staff have said they are unaware of any transgender students participating in athletics. 

Prior to the vote, local resident Matthew Paluch recommended the board be more cautious about the issue considering MLSD's financial position that it is still recovering from, and reminded the board to consider students' mental health. He said that, while he understood the board is trying to do what they feel is best, there are concerns that should be factored in.

"The primary responsibility of the school district is to educate children, " Paluch said. "Currently, there are no transgender girls competing in girls sports in Moses Lake. Changing the district policy in a way that violates state law would allow the state to withhold funding, which would effectively shut down the district due to the financial situation the district is in." 

It is uncertain how exactly the policy suspension will impact funding for MLSD or its students’ ability to participate in Washington Interscholastic Activities Association-run events. The Columbia Basin Herald is reaching out to OSPI and WIAA to gather more information on those issues. 

Paluch strongly cautioned the board against making the decision to suspend the policy. 

"You cannot afford to have any state funds withheld, and there is no reserve to cover operations during any interruption of state funding, the state has nothing to lose if they decide to make an example of the district, but we have everything to lose," he said.

Previously  

At the previous March 5 board meeting, the board voted unanimously to send a letter to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Superintendent Chris Reykdal, Attorney General Nick Brown and Governor Bob Ferguson regarding the district changing its policies to align with federal law, instead of state law for transgender athletes.   

According to Jensen, the letter was written by a concerned citizen. She said she cannot disclose who the citizen is. 

OSPI’s Equity and Civil Rights Office responded to the district’s letter March 6. The letter reiterated that the board's intention to limit athletic eligibility based on gender identity contradicted state nondiscrimination laws enshrined in Chapters 28A.640 and 28A.642 of the Revised Code of Washington. OSPI said if the board or district is unable to “voluntarily resolve these concerns” OSPI may take further action in regard to the district’s new policies.  

The Columbia Basin Herald published an article about both of these letters, which can be found here: bit.ly/CBHTransgender. 

Warden School District has sent letters similar to the MLSD documents to both Washington state and federal agencies. 

Policy 3211 

The MLSD board suspended policy 3211. Board Member Ryan Coulston voted in opposition to the suspension, while the other four board members voted in favor. 

The policy reads: “State law requires the district to adopt a policy and procedure that do the following: (1) incorporate the office of the superintendent of public instruction’s rules and guidelines developed under RCW 28A.642.020 to eliminate discrimination in Washington public schools on the basis of gender identity and expression; (2) address the unique challenges and needs faced by transgender students in public schools; and (3) describe the application of the district policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying to transgender students.” 

The link to the policy can be found here: bit.ly/MLSDPolicy3211. 

Jensen said she is unsure what the next steps will be for the district. The policy is only suspended, which means it can be edited and reinstated or the board could choose to eliminate it permanently.

“A lot of it is going to depend on what happens in the upcoming weeks,” Jensen said. “We don’t know what the state is going to do. We don’t know what the federal government is going to do. There is just so much happening here right now, that we just don’t know.”  

There was a lot of discussion prior to the vote on the policy between board members, as well as two public comments addressing the matter. 

“You know, the topic in my mind is directly related to discrimination by race, by skin color. I mean, if we're, if we are allowing the, I guess, segregation from girls' sports and allowing just anybody to enter girls' sports or girls often lose their restrooms, that, in my mind, is the same as we have a race issue,” Jensen said. “If that follows in the same train of thought, for me, it's worth discriminating and not giving girls an able and fair chance.”  

However, Coulston then brought up a statistic made in a public comment earlier in the night that more than half of transgender and nonbinary students have seriously considered suicide and nearly one in five have attempted suicide.  

“The statistic that was shared earlier was that at least half of the LGBTQ+ community has contemplated suicide, and I think that that's probably extremely low because I grew up in a two-parent household with a Christian background,” Coulston said. “I had my athletics that kept me busy, I had my church that kept me busy, and I contemplated suicide too. I had every reason not to, right? And so, growing up, there's still issues that we need to work through, mental health issues.” 

Coulston said the board should be focusing on policies to prevent bullying and protect all students, regardless of their identity. Coulston then voted no on the policy saying he would like further time to review the policy’s pros and cons. He then asked what the goal and timeline of suspending the policy was.  

“No timeline,” Jensen said. “As you know, if you’ve been watching the news, we have no idea what is going to happen in an hour, let alone tomorrow, for sure. So, I think at this point, just the fact that it is suspended can give us some time to really just kind of muddle through the rest of it. I think we have a lot to talk about, and it can come or go with any faction of this. So I mean, there is just so much that goes into it and there is so much happening right now that we just don’t know.”  

Another Letter 

The board also decided, unanimously, to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education asking for federal intervention for the contradictions between federal and state law regarding transgender students in athletics, bathrooms and dressing rooms.  

The letter can be found here: bit.ly/MLSDMarch20Letter. 

The letter opens by saying the board has decided to send this letter regarding recent directives by the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education Craig Trainor and an executive order from President Donald J. Trump. The letter says the board took immediate action to follow federal policy and unanimously voted March 6 to follow said directives.  

“On March 6th, 2025, our District received an email from the State of Washington, Superintendent of Public Instruction,” reads the letter. “This letter and our current State Law puts our school district in conflict with the directives by the Federal Government, and the President of the United States. The Moses Lake Board of Directors is seeking your guidance and help in this urgent matter.” 

The letter said MLSD intends to follow the directives from the federal level by removing policies that contradict the federal policies.  

“The Moses Lake School district is a small school district in Washington State with approximately 8,000 students,” reads the letter. “We do not have the resources or want to use the limited resources meant for the children we serve, to be used in endless litigation against Governor Bob Ferguson, or Superintendent Chris Reykdal.” 

The letter concludes by saying that Washington State law allows transgender individuals to use whatever bathroom facility or locker room they prefer, which the board claims violates the civil liberties of the female students in their care.  

None of the letters address transgender students who were born biologically female at birth and may be transitioning from female to male. 

Paluch said he felt the issue was one that MLSD shouldn't be stepping in the middle of unnecessarily. 

"Making policy changes mentioned in your letter to the governor and OSPI would be mismanagement, and it would violate your primary duty of ensuring students are receiving an education since none of the students in the district have been directly affected by transgender girls competing girls sports, I don't think it's appropriate for the district to risk everything to take a stand on this issue," he said.

    Board member Ryan Coulston voted no on the suspension of policy 3211. Coulston said the board should be focusing on policies to prevent bullying and protect all students, regardless of their identity. He said he would like further time to review the policy’s pros and cons. He also wanted more clarification on the goal and timeline of suspending the policy.