Westerly School Committee moving forward with plan to edit district's transgender student policy
The Westerly School Committee is finally
making good on its promise [threat?] to rewrite the Rhode Island
Department of Education (RIDE)’s Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Transitioning Student
policy, weakening many of its key protections for trans
students. In March, the Committee voted unanimously to develop a local policy on
transgender students, but since then, according to Committee member Diane
Chiaradio Bowdy at the September 4th meeting I cover
below, “What we've done to date … is nothing.”
Robert Chiaradio, anti-LGBT crusader, from
his post to "Legal Insurrection"
The meeting began with some promise, as Superintendent Mark
Garceau presented on a Food Insecurity Program and
the findings in the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan
Haidt. I include that information here because occasionally these
presentations came up during public testimony.
No school committee in the state can seemingly avoid having
anti-trans activist Robert Chiaradio at the podium, and since
Westerly is where Chiaradio lives, his hateful presence is felt more keenly.
His time at the podium was spent with his usual fearmongering, but he did spend
some time talking about his other favorite subject: banning books he doesn’t
approve of from schools and libraries. More interesting was the testimony of
Westerly resident Diane Goldsmith, who spoke between Chiaradio’s
two times at the podium.
Robert Chiaradio: There was some very good information in [Superintendent Garceau’s] presentations. I would add that the same issue exists with non-age-appropriate books in our libraries. Kids are exposed to a lot. I've talked about this many times. I would like us to examine the nature of the selections in our libraries. We're talking about the same thing here, not apples to oranges, apples to apples. I would urge this committee to take a further look at what we curate in our libraries.
After this small detour, Chiaradio got back to his favorite
subject, denying the very existence of trans people - this time going so far as
to say, “I don't use the term trans. That's not a term I use.” Chiaradio
prefers the term, “those who are confused with their sexual identity.”
Robert Chiaradio: I'm here to talk about an
agenda item, the transgender protocol, which is on the [agenda]. Since May, I
have been traveling around Rhode Island speaking at school committee meetings
about rides harmful and untruthful transgender guidance, as well as the Biden
administration's attempted hijacking of Title IX. I've completed 25 meetings so
far. I have 11 to go, and I'm very optimistic that at least half of the school
committees with whom I've spoken will make significant changes to their
policies. This committee got it all started back in March when it voted
unanimously, I believe, to write its policy or at least scrap the one that they
have, write its own, or not have a policy.
Other school committees are very interested in what you are
doing. I've been just about everywhere, so that is a good thing. But just for
the people here and watching at home, I would like to update you all [and] let
you all know what is in the RIDE protocol that is currently policy here in
Westerly.
This policy allows boys to utilize the same bathrooms and
locker rooms as girls. It allows biological boys to room with girls on
overnight field trips. It mandates that teachers and staff utilize pronouns as
deemed by the student. It allows biological boys to compete with and against
girls athletically, and it allows the keeping of secrets - [which] may be the
most egregious thing - the keeping of secrets from parents regarding the social
transitioning of their kids while in school. Most would feel, as most on this
committee, do I think, that much of this is nonsense.
These pillars here are no good - they're discriminatory, and
I'll get into that in a minute. We've lost our common sense here - I think we
could agree on that. All of this is predicated on the false premise, of course,
that sex is fluid, which it is not. It is not. No matter how much a boy wants
to be a girl, think he's a girl, or dress like a girl, he will never be a girl.
Never, never. Same with girls who identify as boys. Wanting to be something or
simply declaring you are something does not make it so.
Current RIDE guidance, as well as this current
administration's attempted Title IX hijacking, places our
girls in uncomfortable, unsafe, and unfair situations. As you all know, Title
IX was enacted to prevent sex-based discrimination against women, not men who
pretend to be women. That is not the same thing.
Usually, I have a plethora of speakers following me around. They're not here tonight. They will tell you about the suicide rates of this population, but what they won't tell you is that these rates increase post-treatment and that well over 50% of them show up on the autism spectrum. This is a very vulnerable population that we're talking about. Kids are duped by gender-driven ideologues into taking non-reversible puberty blockers and mangling their bodies with surgery. They will never reproduce. Never. Their lives will be [ones of] constant infections and non-functioning sexual organs. Big med and big pharma love it. This is a whole new pool of people for them. They love it. This is the trans cult I talk about. Not the kids. The kids are the victims.
Diane Goldsmith [Westerly resident]: First of
all, I'd like to say that I was very impressed by both presentations and it
seems to me that one of the things that prevents bullying and overuse of phones
is when students are involved in activities like spending their time labeling
cartons so that they can feed hungry people. The more of those kinds of
activities, I think, the better off we are.
One thing I want to say, I feel like you know what Bob and I
are going to say. It's silly for us to say any of it, but I will make the point
that I am fascinated by the fact in all of these conversations about boys
pretending to be girls, never once have we talked about girls that transition
into boys and what it means to tell those kids that they need to use the girls'
bathroom.
I mean, I don't know what you're talking about, but I have
friends who are 18-year-olds that have mustaches and hair and whatever. I'm not
sure that's who you want in the girls' bathroom.
The last point I want to make is that I'm always a little
suspicious of men who are doing things to ‘protect’ women. That's what we had
when women couldn't run marathons - because men decided that women weren't
strong enough; that pregnant women couldn't work on airliners because they
weren't able to; or that women couldn't have the same 40-hour-a-week jobs as
men because women were weaker.
I don't know what this is about, but I don't think what we're talking about here merits the time and the amount of conversation that we had. The important work is the work that Dr. Garceau has talked about. The food insecurity work. That's what's important, rather than this. I don't even know how many people are affected by this policy because no one in any of these discussions has ever brought to us one single incident that's affected a student or a teacher here at the school - at least not in any conversation I've heard. I would urge you all to move on and do the important work that the school committee does.
Robert Chiaradio: With all due respect to the
previous speaker - You're suspicious of somebody who cares about girls? That's
pathetic. Secondly, there is a solution and it's already going on in some of
our schools. It is a single-use lockable facility for any kid who is
uncomfortable using the bathroom of his or her biological sex. That's the
solution. You're doing it now, I believe, in some schools, I know a bunch of
people that I've talked to in different districts are doing it. There's just no
need to single out kids who are confused with their sexual identity in that
policy. It should be any kid. They should all be treated the same. Kids who are
confused with their sexual identities don't deserve any more or any less
protection than any other kid. That's how it is.
I don't know what else [the previous speaker] said, but
she's suspicious of ... me, I guess because I care about all kids, girls in
particular. I have a daughter. I don't want a daughter in a locker room or
changing facility with a man next to her changing. I don't want that. I think
most sane people would not want that. Not that that population is inherently
dangerous - I've never said that, but it is a comfort and a safety issue for
our girls and it's just not right. That is the hill I will die on folks. I'm
not going to budge from that feeling.
The deflection is massive on this issue. Of course, they
want to talk about anything but what is going on? That is the trans cult that
I'm talking about. They need to be stopped. The kids are the victims here.
Lastly, these policies discriminate against 99% of our
school population. And this must be fixed. That's what you all voted to do last
March. It is now September. I and others look forward to listening, when this
agenda item comes up tonight. I trust you will formulate a sensible solution
that protects all kids, not just those who are confused with their sexual
identity.
I don't use the term trans. That's not a term I use. Stop discriminating against biological girls and boys. Every single kid deserves the same protection. And there are solutions out there that can be easily had. It just takes common sense.
Committee member Lori Wycall: Thank you both for
coming to the podium. I agree with both Diane and Bob tonight. The time and
energy that we've put into this just blows my mind. There is a common-sense
solution that I think we can get to as a committee where every kid will be safe.
Both Bob and Diane said it - single-use bathrooms, where anybody can go to feel
safe and protected. The problem is solved. This is just too much conversation
for things that don't affect our general population and that's what we're here
for. We're here for all of the kids and doing what's best for them. I think
that we can do that. We agreed that we would rewrite or write our policy. I
think we can get there - something that's common sense and can do everything
that needs to happen for the kids.
Committee member Leslie Dunn: Thank you to both of our speakers. I know we're going to discuss it more when it comes up, so I'll save some of my comments for that. But it needs to be said that for any students or families who are part of the trans community and in general in our school population - these are very tough conversations to be had and to hear. I hope people are practicing self-care and doing what they need to do because one thing we can't do here is to determine whether this is somebody being confused, a boy is a boy, a girl is a girl - That's not something I think anybody on this body can do to address that to our whole school population. But what we can do is understand what the community's doing.
45 minutes later, the committee took up the policy.
Here’s the discussion, edited for clarity and brevity:
Committee member Diane Chiaradio Bowdy: I asked
to put this back on the agenda because we did talk about the transgender policy
a long time ago and I've been getting questions from people within Westerly and
school committee members outside of Westerly. I wanted to put it on the agenda
so we can [do] what we said we would do, which was create our document.
What we've done to date… is nothing. I want to bring it out
because the topic keeps coming up. That's it.
Committee member Michael Ober: It's come up a
couple of times. It seems like we're not stuck on it, but this is an issue that
will take a lot of time and will take people to look at it. I was thinking that
we should send it to the new Equity Subcommittee to review, have open meetings
on it, and have experts come and talk to us about it, as well as community
members, staff, and school committee members.
If we're going to write a policy on it, let's have them look
at it and open up the public meetings and review it and they can send it back
to us for review.
Committee member Robert Cillino: For me, we
write the policy The seven of us now who are up here, we're the ones who write
the policy. And when we come up with something we can take feedback on, we
will, and we'll present it here. We'll have a first reading, we'll have a
second reading, and as many readings as we need to - and go back and make edits
and changes as necessary. But we're the ones who need to make sure that we're
writing a policy.
Committee member Lori Wycall: I agree with Rob.
I think we should do a workshop with the six of us and who knows, maybe we look
back and go our handbook. Who knows? We should sit down as a group - not at a
regular meeting like this - it would take an hour of discussion at least to get
it going. I'd like to make a motion that we look at our calendars... and put
something on the calendar.
Committee member Robert Cillino: Do we need a
motion? I think we can look and we can set a date.
Committee member Diane Chiaradio Bowdy: I know
Leslie and Mike just mentioned getting people involved who are affected by the
policy. I don't know that any of us are experts on it. I don't know if the six
of us could come up with something and then get it reviewed as Mike is saying
by by the new [equity] committee that we formed.
Committee member Michael Ober: A meeting is a good idea. After that, we want to have an open forum and then come back to a regular school committee meeting and approve or go forward with it.
The meeting was scheduled for September 17th at 5 pm.
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