RSU 21 Superintendent Terri Cooper stated at Monday’s School Board meeting she was committed to protecting transgender students and others, and to upholding the law. Maine Human Rights Act protects trans students from discrimination in schools.
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“Whether they are transgender, of different racial backgrounds, religions, or any other identity that makes them uniquely who they are, every student deserves to feel safe, valued, and supported in our schools,” Cooper said.
Under Maine law, and with guidance from the Maine Principals’ Association (which oversees high school sports in the state), transgender girls are permitted to join girls’ sports teams in school. Whether that should be allowed is a debate that is happening throughout the state of Maine and across the country.
President Donald Trump earlier this month signed an executive order seeking to ban transgender students from playing girls’ sports – and to cut off federal funds to schools that do not comply.
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According to USA TODAY, shortly after the Trump-Mills exchange, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights started investigations into the Maine DOE as well as a school district in the state, accusing both of allowing transgender athletes to play in girls’ sports, in violation of Title IX.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.
In her remarks on Monday, Cooper said the issue goes beyond following regulations and is about “honoring our shared humanity.”
“Our community thrives when we embrace and celebrate our differences, when we see each child’s unique journey as worthy of protection and respect,” Cooper said. “I believe deeply that when we create spaces where all students can learn without fear, where they can be authentically themselves, we are fulfilling our highest calling as educators and as members of this community.”
Parents renew call to ban trans athletes from girls’ sports
During the public comment portion of the School Board meeting, Tom Moyer of Kennebunk expressed his concerns regarding the safety of girls competing against transgender girls.
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On Monday, Moyer referred to a special report, released by the United Nations General Assembly last year, that focused on violence against women and girls in sports.
Moyer noted the report states, “Female athletes are . . . more vulnerable to sustaining serious physical injuries when female-only sports spaces are opened to males.”
Moyer also referred to passages in the report that said the replacement of female sports categories with mixed-sex categories has resulted in women losing medals and in females experiencing “extreme psychological stress” when faced with the prospect of competing against males. Moyer said the report also spoke of the physical advantages that males have over females when it comes to athletics.
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Moyer urged the School Board to review and reconsider the district’s policy “for reasons of fairness, safety, and respect for the differences between boys and girls,” he said.
Another parent, Jane Evelyn, argued that allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports undermines the original intent of Title IX, which is to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls in education and athletics.
Parents, lawmakers come forward to defend School Board policy
Several parents defended the RSU 21 School Board’s policy and Mills’ decision not to follow Trump’s executive order.
Leslie Trantelange, a resident of Kennebunk and a member of its Select Board, said she was not buying the argument that opponents of the district’s policy were genuinely concerned about protecting girls from transgender girls in sports.
“This is BS,” Trantelange said. “They are not concerned with your girls, daughters, granddaughters, sisters, and nieces. Don’t let them fool you. If they were so concerned about who they consider and accept to be girls, then they would also be protesting trans boys from playing on male sports teams. It’s misogyny.”
Trantelange also questions what she described as the policy opponents’ “obsession with what is in our students’ pants.”
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“It can’t be easy, but we have to do our best to guide them, to support them, and protect them as they go through it,” Rafferty said.
RSU 21 to retain current policy despite threat of loss of federal funding
The School Board did not react to public comment at the meeting.
School Board Chair Matthew Stratford expressed previously the district’s commitment to the “safety, well-being, and dignity of all of our students. Our policies are developed to ensure every student can participate in school activities in an environment where they feel safe, respected, and supported.”
Michael Burnham, the executive director of the Maine Principals’ Association, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
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Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey released the following statement in regard to Trump’s threats to the state’s school funding:
“It is disturbing that President Trump would use children as pawns in advancing his political agenda. Any attempt by the President to cut federal funding in Maine unless transgender athletes are restricted from playing sports would be illegal and in direct violation of federal court orders. Fortunately, though, the rule of law still applies in this country, and I will do everything in my power to defend Maine’s laws and block efforts by the President to bully and threaten us.”