Middle school girl tells of torment at being forced to change clothes alongside biological males  

A sixth-grade girl has shared her personal anguish at an Indiana school district’s compelling her to change clothes beside biological males in the girls’ locker room.  

“Imagine this is you,” young Deliah Marshall boldly addressed the Lebanon Community School Corporation Board of Trustees last month. She can be seen at the 35-minute mark in the meeting video. “You’re an 11-year-old girl who’s coming into school thinking that they’re in a safe environment. You go to PE to get ready in the locker room and you see a boy there.  

“The first time you saw them you panicked. Do I change in front of a boy? I feel like I’m doing something wrong. Do I take my shirt off? Do I take my pants off? He is doing so, so I think I should.” 

Marshall told the board she felt so uncomfortable with the situation that she wanted to cry. She asked the board to consider all students’ safety, not just a select few.  

“The only thing I’m asking for is that all students can change in a locker room that is matched to their gender. If I was your daughter and I came to you and said I saw the outline of a male genitalia for the first time in the locker room in a school that’s supposed to be safe, I’d hope you would be proactive and find a safe place for all students, not just 1%.”  

According to LCSC’s official website, students’ safety is a top priority in the district.  

“The school board has determined that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards,” its Anti-Bullying Policy states. “Bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate its students in a safe and disciplined environment.” 

The district defines bullying as repeated acts or gestures that “harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or harm the targeted student,” and creates a hostile school environment that hinders the targeted student’s ability to learn or participate.  

There is no specific policy addressing transgender students or bathroom usage on its website.  

The Lion’s attempts to reach the district and its officials proved unsuccessful.