Wichita lawmaker plans another transgender bathroom bill

A Wichita lawmaker plans to propose legislation that would require public school students to use restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities that correspond with their gender at birth.

Rep. John Whitmer, R-Wichita, says his proposal was prompted by a controversial policy at Derby High School, which allows transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.

“You’ve got folks in your community, neighbors in your community, who are significantly concerned about the safety and the privacy and the dignity of their children,” Whitmer said. “And they’re being ignored repeatedly.”

Thomas Witt, executive director of the LGBT rights group Equality Kansas, said he would not comment on Whitmer’s proposal until the legislation is fully formed and submitted.

But Witt warned that his group and others would strongly oppose attempts to roll back bathroom access for transgender students. A similar bill stalled in committee at the Statehouse last year.

“Last year’s legislation was horrible legislation that put kids in danger, and it’s dead,” Witt said Friday. “And any new legislation – we look forward to killing that as well.”

No ‘bounty’ provision

Whitmer said the new bill – which he plans to title the Children’s Privacy & Protection Act – would not include a section that troubled many lawmakers and prompted opponents to dub last year’s bill a “bounty hunt.”

The provision would have allowed students to sue their school for $2,500 if they encountered a transgender classmate in the “wrong” restroom or locker room.

“This isn’t about punishing anybody,” Whitmer said. “We’re not trying to punish, we’re trying to protect.”

According to Derby superintendent Craig Wilford, Derby High School officials decided to allow transgender students wider access to bathrooms after receiving a request from a transgender student last spring.

Principal Tim Hamblin, with Wilford’s support, adjusted policy in accordance with a federal directive issued by the Obama administration. He notified families of the change, and since then parents and others have formed Facebook groups and circulated petitions to either support the decision or urge the school to reconsider.

Last summer, the school board affirmed the new policy and directed a committee of about 50 district officials, teachers, students and others to explore the issue further.

“If some law or court decision changes or impacts that in some way, then we would have to look at what the language of that says and how we’d need to respond,” Wilford said.

Gender-neutral bathrooms

Kansas education officials have said they’re dealing with transgender issues more frequently than in years past. Lawmakers in several states have debated laws requiring students to use bathrooms according to their anatomical gender at birth or resolutions objecting to the federal guidance on bathroom access.

Whitmer said many residents of Derby, which is part of his House district, feel overlooked and ignored by district officials. He said he approached district leaders on behalf of those constituents.

“The conversation that I had was … ‘If you can address this, great,’ ” he said. “But they haven’t, so unfortunately, now we have to.”

Whitmer said his bill will require schools to “provide gender-neutral accommodations for those who wish to use them.” Transgender students who don’t feel comfortable in a boys’ or girls’ bathroom could use a bathroom in a nurse’s office or teachers’ lounge, he said.

“From what I’ve seen, most school districts are already doing this. … It’s an easy accommodation,” Whitmer said.

“Derby chose to follow a federal mandate that was unnecessary. They went to the extreme, and they’re ignoring the valid concerns of their neighbors from their own community.”

Amanda Brubaker, who started a Facebook page titled Derby Community Members Supporting Trans Youth, said other schools besides Derby allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice, so Whitmer’s proposal would have a widespread effect on Kansas youngsters.

“Derby got all the attention because they actually told people what they were doing,” she said. “It would help us in Derby if other schools would just say, ‘We do the same thing.’

“Stand up, speak out.”

Privacy vs. access

Whitmer said his proposal would be more narrowly focused than a highly controversial bathroom bill approved last year in North Carolina, and would refer only to bathrooms in public schools.

He said he would trust schools to enforce a new law as needed.

“I don’t think you need a bathroom police,” he said. “I’m going to say we let people be adults here.”

Josh Turner, whose two sons attend Derby High, said the district went too far in complying with the federal directive, and Whitmer’s proposal may be necessary to rein things back.

“I think that we’ve created a lot of chaos over the course of this school year and a lot of distraction from education with the district pushing a ruling that they were not required to push,” Turner said.

“Students are entitled to have privacy,” he said. “I realize right now it’s just the bathrooms … but the truth is, this is just the first step. It’s gone far beyond being supportive and open to the transgender students. It’s gone to a point where the district is literally pushing this and encouraging it.”

Brubaker, a Wichita teacher whose older child graduated from Derby High last year, said most students don’t have a problem with transgender classmates using whichever bathroom they prefer.

“People don’t realize how amazing kids are, and how accepting they are, and how absolutely safe and comfortable they are with each other,” she said.

Liz Hamor, co-chair of the Wichita chapter of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, would not comment on Whitmer’s proposal but said her group will “continue doing our work to make sure students feel safe, valued and respected in their schools.”

Hamor pointed to a 2015 school climate survey, released by her group last month, which showed that LGBTQ students in Kansas continue to experience verbal harassment, threats and hostile treatment at rates higher than the national average.

“We did not find that surprising,” Hamor said. “But we are ready to take this data and move forward with using it to show educators how their students feel, what they think and how they can address those issues.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 3:19 PM.