Parents demand answers after 18-year-old male allegedly exposed himself to young girls in Wisconsin high school locker room, claiming trans identity

The four girls entered the girls’ locker room after an hour-long swim unit for their physical education course. After the class concluded, the girls walked in on an 18-year-old male student who approached them and introduced himself, saying, “I’m trans, by the way.”

After reports were provided to the school’s administration and the parents were notified, Sun Prairie Area School District (SPASD) administrators apparently failed to uphold the basic protections provided by federal law, per the report. Title IX is a federal law that does not allow discrimination based on sex in education program and other activities.

Libby Sobic, WILL Director of Education Policy, said: “School districts need to think through what loosening boundaries for single-sex spaces could mean for girls. Parents are understandably concerned about whether school districts—like the Sun Prairie Area School District—are doing everything required to protect girls in bathrooms and locker rooms. WILL is calling on the district to act promptly to restore a sense of safety and privacy in its schools.”

WILL Deputy Counsel Dan Lennington noted: “Public schools have two basic jobs: educate our kids and keep them safe. All too often our schools can’t do either. This is a wakeup call to all parents and taxpayers to become more informed about their local public school district and demand accountability.”

However, the district apparently did not report this incident to the Title IX coordinator, who should have reached out to the girls and offered support. The girls should have also been able to file a complaint to the coordinator, but the report does not seem to indicate that this was the case.

WILL reported that “since the district failed to take these steps, it cannot possibly know whether sexual harassment occurred,” adding that “SPASD did not consider its mandatory reporting obligations under state law because this conduct - an adult male exposing his genitals to four freshman girls - could potentially implicate Wisconsin criminal statute, Wis. Stat. § 948.10.”