Michigan parents sue school district over letting boys into girls' bathrooms

Michigan parents have filed a lawsuit against Vicksburg Public Schools over its all-gender bathroom policy, which allows boys to use the girls' restroom and strip nude in the girls' locker rooms.

According to the federal lawsuit filed on Friday, parents allege that the policy discriminates against girls and violates their right to privacy, reports News Channel 3. The suit accuses the school district of seven Title IX and civil rights violations.

Matthew DePerno, an attorney representing the parents in the suit, says that parents are irate with the lack of transparency from school officials over the policy.
 

"The principal told them there is nothing they can do about it," DePerno said. "The issue was settled and told the students to make the best of the situation."

DePerno said biological males are banned from using the girls' restroom in other school districts and are provided with an alternative option, like unisex bathrooms. However, that's not the case for Vicksburg Public Schools, according to the outlet.

School board President Virgil Knowles told irate parents at a recent school board meeting that the district is following federal guidance and Michigan state law, which states that individuals can use bathrooms or locker rooms based on their gender identity, regardless of their actual sex.

"I am not going to sit here and make a statement on whether we agree or disagree," Knowles said, according to the outlet. "Current binding case law in Michigan requires public schools to allow all students, including transgender students, to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identification."

“You need to take it up with your state legislators," Knowles asserted. "We need to have some action at the state level, we are kind of caught in the middle of it all."

As a result of embarrassment and fear, some classmates try to avoid using the restroom, according to Rick, a parent of three daughters in the Vicksburg school district.

"My concern is that our daughters and sons could become victims of non-physical contact sexual abuse," Rick told the outlet.

Heather, a mom with children in the school district, claimed at the board meeting that, "Many female students are using the bathroom only one time a day out of fear and anxiety that a male student could be using the bathroom with them."

Professional women's skateboarder Taylor Silverman, a vocal critic of trans-identified men competing in women's sports, praised the parents for fighting back against the policy in a statement to The Post Millennial.

"In a time where many people are scared to use their voice, it gives me a lot of hope seeing parents taking a stand for their daughters. I’m also extremely grateful that more people in Southwest Michigan are speaking up for girls. I know what it’s like to be impacted by gender ideology as an adult but I can’t imagine going through something like this as a young girl or having a daughter experience this," Silverman said.

"These girls should have never been subjected to this in the first place. What’s already happened cannot be undone but I hope that this case leads to a resolution where girls can feel safe at Vicksburg Schools and current and future students do not have to face fear and embarrassment due to male students in female bathrooms and locker rooms," she continued. "I think this also raises the question of why minors are being encouraged to identify as transgender and transition in Michigan. Minors cannot consent and do not have fully developed brains to even fully understand the concept of permanency like adults do."

Biological men being allowed into women's safe spaces under the guise of "equity, inclusion, and diversity" has sparked significant debate and backlash across the country. Parents feel for their children's safety, and women feel as if their privacy is being invaded.

Trans-identified activists say that the concerns are an act of "transphobia" and demand that their community use any restroom they please. In fact, one trans-identified activist encouraged other community members to "take up arms" if men were to be denied entry into a women's-only space.