Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) is suing a school district in the state for allegedly hiding discussion of its transgender bathroom policy from parents.
According to The Washington Post, the Wentzville school board near St. Louis went into a closed session to discuss a student’s request to use a bathroom that aligns with their “gender identity” instead of their biological sex (via WaPo):
Debate during the closed portion of Wentzville’s June 14 Board of Education meeting veered from legal advice and details on the student request to broader policy discussions, board members Jen Olson and Renee Henke wrote in affidavits provided by Bailey’s office.
Olson and Henke claimed members considered whether there should be exceptions for notifying parents when students request bathroom accommodations, such as in cases of parental abuse.
Missouri’s Sunshine Law requires school board meetings to be open to the public. There are some exceptions, including for legal matters, but any other debate must be public.
“Parents have the right to know who is in the bathroom with their children,” Bailey said in a statement. “Members of the Wentzville School Board knowingly and purposefully denied parents that right when they shrouded the transgender student bathroom usage policy in secrecy, directly violating the Open Meetings Law.”
🚨Parents have a right to know who is in the bathroom with their kids.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) September 26, 2023
We filed suit against Wentzville School District’s Board of Education for concealing a transgender student bathroom usage policy in direct violation of Missouri’s Open Meetings Law. pic.twitter.com/Wi84bj4Tft
ICYMI: Parents have every right to know who is using the bathroom with their children. pic.twitter.com/m7EGFmI3L2
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) September 27, 2023
According to the lawsuit, the school board had two meetings, which occurred on June 12 and July 25, which Bailey claims violated state law.
“A school board in Missouri attempted to secretly implement a transgender student bathroom policy without making families in the community aware. There’s no justification for keeping secrets from families. You’re supposed to be representing them, not lying to them,” Nicki Neily, the president of Parents Defending Education, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A school board in Missouri attempted to secretly implement a transgender student bathroom policy without making families in the community aware.
— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) September 27, 2023
There’s no justification for keeping secrets from families.
You’re supposed to be representing them, not lying to them. https://t.co/nWrpt1t7mb
In recent years, many states have passed laws that require students to use restrooms that align with their biological sex and not their “gender identity.” This came to light after reports broke that female swimmers were forced to share a locker room with Will “Lia” Thomas, who believes he is a “trans woman.”
“It [the locker room] was uncomfortable. I did notice a few girls – there’s a few bathroom stalls in the bathroom – and I did notice some girls changing in the bathroom stalls for practice, which I’ve never really seen that before,” one of Thomas’ teammates, Paula Scanlan, said. “For me personally, the biggest thing was, when you’re changing, there’s all these people talking in the background, all these women’s voices, and then all of a sudden you hear a man’s voice. I’d always kind of jump a little bit [hearing Thomas’ voice].”