School board refuses to review policy telling girls to leave locker room if uncomfortable with trans students

(Daily Caller) – The Catalina Foothills School District board told parents Thursday that it would not be reviewing a policy that directs female students to use a different locker room or bathroom if they are uncomfortable with transgender students being in their changing areas, according to an email obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Earlier this month, Catalina Foothills High School (CFHS) came under fire after parents discovered that the school had implemented an “unwritten policy” not only allowing transgender students in the locker rooms and bathrooms of their choice, but also directing girls to go somewhere else if they did not agree with the rule. Despite many parents voicing their concerns, an email obtained by the DCNF and sent to Bart Pemberton, a father of a female student, said that the district would not be looking into the policy.

“After listening to public comment on this topic, considering the variety of emails received from you and other constituents, and reviewing additional information that board members requested from Dr. Kamerzell, no Board member has requested this discussion be placed on an agenda,” CFSD Governing Board President Eileen Jackson wrote.

Jackson further stated in the email that the policy had her “full support.”

“By not requesting this item be added to a future agenda, I am expressing my full support of the policy and our administrators’ implementation of this policy in our schools,” Jackson said.

Parents at the Arizona high school learned about the policy after Pemberton spoke out about a conversation he had with CFHS principal Jody Brase, who claimed that the school had used the “unwritten” policy for the last ten years. The school policy stated that parents would not be alerted if a male student who identified as transgender started sharing a locker room with their daughters, Pemberton revealed.

Jennifer Pershing, a mother of a junior at CFHS, told the DNCF that the policy is unacceptable and frankly horrifying.”

“We are informed when our sons or daughters have a common cold, but not when they are suffering from gender dysphoria,” Pershing said. “By the time parents find out, it’s often too late; the next logical steps are chemical sterilization and life-changing surgery. Parents need to know so they can help their children. Parents also need to know so they can protect their children.”

Jackson confirmed the policy’s existence in a March 2 email, saying that “any student who is uncomfortable sharing multiple-occupancy facilities with others has the ability to request an accommodation.” Jackson did not respond to requests for comment.

Pemberton told the DCNF that the policy is “in the name of a very distorted and warped definition of  ‘compassion’ and ‘non-discrimination.’”

Director of Alumni and Community Relations Julie Farbarik told the DNCF that the school district did not “plan to revise the policy.”

“There is no plan to revise the board policy to exclude the language referencing gender identity or expression,” Farbarik said. “Board members have indicated their full support of the current policy and our administrators’ implementation of this policy in our schools.”