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The Stonington Board of Education heard serious accusations from parents on February 19th about how district policies discriminate against and violate the rights of biological girls.
At the beginning of the meeting, BOE member Katie Gauthier, a republican, hinted at what was to come, noting she had received a number of emails about gender identity policies in the district.
The first speaker from the community was Michael Evering.
"About two months ago it was brought to our attention that a biological boy was competing as a female in Stonington, as well as using female changing areas and bathrooms. As parents, this was obviously very concerning, as we feel it is very much our job to make sure our children are safe. I ask each of you, how would you feel if your daughter was in this position," said Evering.
He was frustrated that, due to privacy concerns, both the athletic director and principal could not confirm or deny this was happening in Stonington, but made clear the policy allows for it.
Parents subsequently sent a letter to the Superintendent and BOE with seven specific requests to clarify this policy further in writing, including how the trans athlete policy fits with Title IX, whether it creates unequal competitive conditions or negative impacts on female athletes' opportunities, and whether it complies with federal law.
Rather than answer the questions, Evering said the Board retained a law firm to conduct a private investigation, which resulted in no further information for concerned parents.
Evering demanded that the Board address these serious concerns and protect girls.
BOE member Meghan Blanchette, a democrat, smirked after Evering concluded his comments; it was not the first time she appeared dismissive of parents' concerns.
The next speaker, Shawn Drake, echoed Evering's concerns and also emailed the Board about the issue.
"As a father I'm deeply concerned about the current school policies and the impact they have on all of our females in Stonington Public Schools," said Drake. "I'm disheartened to watch a policy that allows biological males to compete on their teams, completely undermining the fairness of competition."
"My primary concern, however is for these young ladies' safety and fundamental rights to privacy. The idea that spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms are open to biological males is unacceptable," said Drake. "The school's solution telling the girls they can use a separate single stall restroom if they are uncomfortable is frankly insulting. That places the burden of feeling safe on these young ladies, suggesting their right to privacy is a special request rather than given."
He's concerned about the message this policy sends to girls -- that their concerns are not important, and their rights are negotiable.
Sean Healey said he met with the high school principal on the issue.
"By allowing biological males to use female facilities, the Board of Education is knowingly failing to provide a safe environment for my daughter," said Healey. "Any student can use any facility they want on any given day, and the remedy they offered to my daughter was to, again, isolate herself and go out of her way and use a single stall bathroom."
"That's a Title IX violation and civil rights discrimination on the basis of sex," charged Healey. "To be clear we're talking about teenage boys using teenage girls' bathrooms and changing rooms. And this is not just in theory, this is currently taking place at the high school."
Healey called out the Board for violating federal law, and indicated that parents in the community wanted to protect girls.
Another speaker suggested that the 11% decline in total students at the high school might have something to do with unfair policies like the transgender one.
Ashley Tewell, who didn't have children in the high school yet, said she would be seething at the trans policy, pointing out how wrong it is to tell biological girls to go out of their way to use a single stall restroom, but not to tell the gender-confused boys to do so.
David Brown, a member of Stonington's Board of Finance, spoke about the obvious problems with having males participating in female sports.
His comments echoed other parents' concerns.
"My comment is to go along with the folks who talked about the problem of having a male in a female locker room and playing on a female sport. I'm sure that all of you up there are not in favor of this," said Brown. "I would assume that you are not in favor of this."
That assumption was apparently wrong, based on Blanchette's reaction.
"So I'm hoping that you can really put a lot of effort in finding a way to change this -- whatever you have to do -- because this is like really important," said Brown. "I'm just hoping that you will take lead here and fight this, whatever it takes. You're the Board of Ed, you're our elected representatives. This is something that should not be happening in the town of Stonington."
But when Bill Hewitt shared his comments, Blanchette was all smiles -- that's because he expressed support for DEI and not "kicking somebody out of something."
He claimed his three daughters, who went through Stonington, would welcome the inclusion of transgender students into their spaces, which was music to Blanchette's ears.
It is hard to comprehend why certain people are so eager to erase the hard-earned rights earned by women.
You can watch the full Board of Education meeting below:
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