Arizona High School District Navigates Transgender Bathroom Political Minefield

By: Martin Dreyfuss

Transgender Student bathroom inclusion is a debated subject at all levels of government that crashes at the intersection of student inclusion and student safety.

Presidencies have altered the national directive regarding transgender bathroom inclusion, xdthe United States Supreme Court outright refused to make a ruling on the issue, and Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs vetoed Superintendent Tom Horne’s guidance to not allow transgender bathroom inclusion.

Amid the political and court conflicts, a local Arizona high school district received backlash from an Arizona congressional candidate and member of Turning Point America for allowing students to use the bathroom of their gender identity.

According to Tempe Union High School District, the guidelines are not defined by politics; instead, Assistant Superintendent Sean McDonald says the guide ensures all students feel safe and included at Tempe Union High School District. 

“The [transgender] guidance is based on the most up-to-date case law and federal and state guidance. While the US Supreme Court has declined to make a definitive ruling, there has been one universal finding in the cases across the country. Courts have uniformly rejected challenges to a district’s transgender student accommodations that were brought by the parents of cisgender students,” said district legal counsel.

 These guidelines will aim to protect all students, including trans students like the son of  Arizona Trans Youth Parent Organization Executive Director Tami Staas.

Sam Staas, 25, began his transition  13 years ago. He was initially told to use the nurse’s restroom as an accommodation; however, he refused due to the potential bullying or questions other students may ask.

So, like 70% of trans students who have limited bathroom access today, Sam refused to use the bathroom throughout the school day. 

By forcibly holding his bladder, Sam risked health problems, such as permanent deformation of the bladder or even kidney failure, according to Piedmont Healthcare, which only compiles as the student continues to prohibit relieving their bladder throughout the day.

“This is about helping all students. It is not a political thing for us. We want to support our transgender students as much as our cisgender students, and we will continue to do so,” said McDonald.

On the other hand, Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne says that parental fears of allowing biological boys into the girls’ restroom causes many parents to question their children’s safety at school.

Horne expressed the need for compromise and believes third-party bathrooms for transgender students are an adequate solution. 

“It is great to have sympathy for them, and we want them not to be discriminated against, but at some point when they get really aggressive, someone has to push back,” said Horne.

Horne says he is for the rights and dignity of trans-students; however, he is not for biological boys using the girls’ restroom, as parents and students have described the experience to him as “traumatizing.”

“I cannot stop the districts, but I certainly have the power of publicity to let them know that they are creating a terrible situation for girls and for their parents, and I predict parents will take girls out of the school if they do that,” said Horne.

Although the backlash at the TUHSD board meeting was from members of political organizations not affiliated with the district, both Arizona Congressional Candidate Kelly Cooper and Turning Point USA Data Analyst Benjamin Larrabee expressed common fears of violence due to the inclusive bathroom policies. 

Larrabee said, “Stories from around the country are pouring in of the physical and sexual assaults because of policies like this. We all know in Loudoun County, Virginia, where a student was sexually assaulted because a man was allowed in the women’s restroom. We all have seen the videos coming out of Portland of a student suffering from gender dysphoria brutally beating another female student.”

While there is no evidence that these incidents are commonplace, the possibility of a single parent’s child being subjected to violence is enough to cause fear and, in Horne’s belief, will cause parents to pull their children from school districts with bathroom access policies.

McDonald’s is also responsible for directing school safety and inclusion, and to ensure all students’ safety, he has provided increased security measures to ensure student safety across the district.  

 The measures include more security and security cameras, the recent expansion of the Care 7 Youth Specialist program, which provides “master level social work,” and the soon-to-be-released new safety guidelines for the district. 

In Arizona, there have been no attempts at laws because it is law that Arizona Education is locally powered, meaning that districts have direct control over the policies within their district. 

Districts’ freedom of action in Arizona coincides with parental freedom regarding where their child will attend school.

 Parents can utilize one of three separate methods in the state that allows parents and students to decide where the best environment for each student’s education is.