The San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education seeks to continue its mission to create a safe and inclusive school environment with the approval of a student-led proposal to open up one all-gender, multi-stall restroom at each of its four main high school campuses.
After a four-hour meeting Tuesday night in Danville, the SRVUSD board approved in a 4-1 vote a pilot program to convert a girl's bathroom at each campus into a multi-stall, gender-neutral bathroom starting Tuesday.
An amendment was added to the proposal moments before the final vote, limiting the pilot program to one full semester as opposed to a full year, as was originally put forward.
"These kids are not asking for the moon. They are asking for a place to pee," said Board Member Rachel Hurd, adding that the all-gender restroom is simply giving students more choices; if a student does not feel comfortable using it then they can move down the hall to the next restroom, she said.
It was a packed house with nearly 100 students, parents, faculty and concerned residents in attendance. The public comment section saw approximately 50 speakers from both sides of the issue voice their opinion -- so many that the board had to reduce speaking time from the traditional three minutes to two.
Student leadership representatives from all four high schools -- Dougherty Valley and California in San Ramon, in addition to Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley in Danville -- recommended that the board adopt the pilot program, explaining that the issue has been a hot topic among students for several years.
"It is a privilege to represent these students, and with that privilege comes a responsibility, we need to make sure that every student we represent has an equitable educational experience, free of barriers," said Ce-Lai Fong, San Ramon Valley High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance President. "I have heard stories from students who...say they do not drink water before school so that they do not have to use the restroom because they do not feel safe doing so."
"Whenever a student feels unsafe, we are all affected," said Brady Martin, president of Monte Vista's associated student body, adding that the student government has been fielding requests for an all-gender bathroom for the past four years.
Board Member Greg Marvel, the one dissenting vote, stated his reasoning was not out of a desire to marginalize the student LGBTQ community, but out of a concern for the safety of female students and a desire for more time to research the issue further.
"This is the first time this has come to the board. I know (students) have talked about it for years but we as a board haven’t talked about it. I would like to have more discussion, I would like to have further analysis," Marvel said, adding that he fears predators will see the multi-gender restrooms as an "opportunity."
"Every kid in this district needs to feel safe... the girls who are 14, and an 18-year-old boy walks in (to the bathroom) and they don't feel safe, I do not like that," he said.
The concern for safety was one that was echoed by many parents and some students, who attended the meeting.
"We do care about transgender kids but we need to care about the other kids in school. I think the proposal will potentially create a threat to allow sexual predators to assault our girls," said Jenny Chang, a mother of a Dougherty Valley student.
"I am totally horrified and disgusted by this multi-gender restroom. This does not help us feel safe and secure. I don’t know any girls who would want to be in the same restroom as a boy," added high school student Abigail Brown. "It would be the same as putting a camera in there."
According to Toni Taylor, deputy superintendent of educational services, preliminary data she has gathered shows that only one sexual assault has occurred on SRVUSD campuses over the past five years, and it did not occur in a bathroom.
"We already have a solution, which is a single-stall (all-gender) restroom, I think we should keep using that," Chang added.
Every SRVUSD high school has designated single stall restrooms, but these are often spread out among the entire campus and can marginalize the students who feel forced to use them.
"It is not enough that just privileged children have a chance to succeed. Every single child at least needs a chance to succeed," Board Member Denise Jennison said.
"We’ve been here for four hours and I have to go to the bathroom," Board President Ken Mintz said toward the end of the meeting, after having remained silent for the majority of the discussion. "And here is where it turns for me; I do not know what some of our students have to go through when they have to go to the bathroom. I know where my bathroom is and we have students here, and maybe adults, who don’t."
"I am willing to have a pilot to see what this looks like, let us collect some meaningful data to determine if this is appropriate, if it makes sense," he added.
On the budget side of the issue, the signs for the bathrooms will be created in-house and are expected to cost approximately $3 total, for all four bathrooms district-wide, Taylor estimated.
At the beginning of the meeting, prior to what would become a passionate public hearing section, Jennison mentioned that sometimes small wins are enough to keep you going.
"I am so proud of the students who came out to talk tonight because they knew they were going to hear hurtful things when they came here," Jennison said in what was her final meeting as a board member. "These students decided that now is the time to step up and be brave."
Comments
Danville
on May 24, 2018 at 6:51 am
on May 24, 2018 at 6:51 am
Greg Marvel is a dinosaur and continues to disappoint as a board member. I cannot wait until we have the chance to vote him out. He has lost nearly all support from district teachers through his words and actions this year.
Diablo
on May 24, 2018 at 6:59 am
on May 24, 2018 at 6:59 am
The first comment is a cheap shot at best. Should the Teachers Union take over the Board and we leave the fox to guard the henhouse?
Danville
on May 24, 2018 at 7:52 am
on May 24, 2018 at 7:52 am
Greg Marvel is the ONLY board member that does not automatically give the teachers union everything they demand, and actually thinks about who has to pay for everything the union demands(parents) and if that makes him a dinosaur please take us back to prehistoric time!
San Ramon
on May 24, 2018 at 8:11 am
on May 24, 2018 at 8:11 am
Both sides cited safety as their main concern. Seems to me bullying is the real problem. Young people need to be taught that you must stand up to and defeat bullies rather than run away from them. School board should find ways to monitor, discipline and punish students who bully others in the restroom.
San Ramon
on May 24, 2018 at 12:36 pm
on May 24, 2018 at 12:36 pm
The SRVUSD school board needs to be required to use an all gender restroom at each high school that they visit. In addition, all teachers, counselors, and each principal need to be assigned to use their own "all gender restroom", otherwise how else could these "educators" be able to intelligently assess this new "enlightened" liberal program.
Can California get any more Looney Tunes?
San Ramon
on May 24, 2018 at 4:55 pm
on May 24, 2018 at 4:55 pm
@District Teacher,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion re Greg Marvel, but I just read his statement and I find I agree with him. He simply feels there needs to be more in depth discussion with the school board members before this issue was decided.
If you choose to call him a 'dinosaur' simply because he stated he would prefer more in depth discussion w/his fellow school board members, then I guess you can call me one, too.
San Ramon
on May 24, 2018 at 7:59 pm
on May 24, 2018 at 7:59 pm
I have watched Greg at school board meetings over the years and he is always pushing for ways to free up money in the budget to help get teachers raises. He has also said many times that you can't give what you don't have. I agree that if that is dinosaur thinking I want a whole herd on the school board.
Danville
on May 25, 2018 at 8:23 am
on May 25, 2018 at 8:23 am
I would think that most people in our community want their kids to come home from school with the same values that they left with. Greg Marvel was the only Board member that wanted to pause and think about safety, while the others were more concerned about changing values.
San Ramon Valley High School
on May 25, 2018 at 9:00 am
on May 25, 2018 at 9:00 am
I so proud of the students who used their voices to contribute to this dialogue. In the end, the decision was made to convert ONE restroom, just one, to an all gender restroom. Every student will still have the option to use a gender specific restroom instead, if they so choose. I have no issue with my taxes being used in this manner, at all.
Danville
on May 28, 2018 at 6:48 am
on May 28, 2018 at 6:48 am
Diane....even ONE all gender restroom per campus is too many. This is the tail wagging the dog. Why should the 99% bend to the 1%?
San Ramon
on May 29, 2018 at 7:04 pm
on May 29, 2018 at 7:04 pm
I have a son at UC Berkeley and they have the all gender restroom in the library. He said, bottom line, the women have 1 less restroom to use because a majority of them won't use the all gender restroom. I think we will find the same thing with this pilot program
Danville
on May 30, 2018 at 1:04 pm
on May 30, 2018 at 1:04 pm
I think if anyone has raised a child that is transgender, they would better understand the reasoning behind having an all-gender restroom. The students who spoke at this meeting are the ones in the know regarding the issues at hand, and likely know more about the suicide rates and marginalization that affect the LGBT community, especially those who are in their teen years. I'm grateful to these student leaders for taking a stand to support this group of marginalized classmates, in spite of the "contributions" of the less tolerant and less enlightened adults who often populate these threads with their perspectives.
Registered user
Danville
on May 30, 2018 at 3:10 pm
Registered user
on May 30, 2018 at 3:10 pm
For all of you who are concerned that the voices of a meager 1% are forced upon the rest of us, you need to move out of California. Move to where old fashioned values are top priority. Let the 1% stay all by themselves out there in loony town. We have the right to stand up for what we and our children should be taught and who they should or should not associate with. Our rights are being violated and we are supposed to be ok with this?
Danville
on May 30, 2018 at 3:11 pm
on May 30, 2018 at 3:11 pm
@listen to Students, can you please clarify to me a few issues I honestly do not understand with your position. First, are you suggesting that alleged bullies hang around in the bathrooms just waiting for a transgender person to walk in so they can yell, demean, bully, etc them? Don't most people regardless of their sexual preference or gender identity issues just go into the bathroom as quickly as possible to go to the bathroom and get out? Are you suggesting there are gangs of bullies hanging out in the bathrooms in the high schools in Danville? If that is the case, we have a much bigger problem than most realize.
Second, if a boy who feels like he is a girl goes into the bathroom, can't he just use the stall in private, so nobody sees his business? If a girl who feels like she is a boy goes into the bathroom, once again, can't she just use the stall in private, so nobody sees her business? Am I missing something?
Third, when I was in high school, except for gym, or after school sports, most people used the bathroom, maybe once, or twice at most during a school day. If people are using the bathroom more than this, maybe they have a medical, rather than gender identity or sexual preference, issue?
Finally, if someone is literally going to commit suicide because there is not a gender neutral bathroom available in high school, we again have a much bigger problem, that a gender neutral bathroom is not going solve. Perhaps there is a real need for more psychological, psychiatric, mental health counseling, that is the real bigger issue?
Danville
on May 30, 2018 at 4:33 pm
on May 30, 2018 at 4:33 pm
After this "win" for transgenders, jow long before that want access to locker rooms and showers? ...Just askin'...
Danville
on May 31, 2018 at 2:08 pm
on May 31, 2018 at 2:08 pm
District teacher, you are calling names (board member a dinosaur). What do you teach your students?
Listen to the students, you are calling out conservatives as being less tolerant and less enlightened, yet you have no respect for anyone with the opposite view.
Seth, your comment might be the most intolerant (asking people who think differently to move away).
Who made the decision to change the girls bathroom and why? Don’t girls use the bathroom more than boys for many reasons?
Registered user
Danville
on May 31, 2018 at 11:00 pm
Registered user
on May 31, 2018 at 11:00 pm
Marie, how is my suggestion to move intolerant? Why should we be forced to reside among people who have lower standards than us? Moving away will teach them a lesson that they cannot impose their perverted beliefs on us. The entire town would go down if all conservatives stuck together and moved away to a conservative area such as Montana where it is consistently a red state. I suggest you think more thoroughly about this plan as it is the most intelligent one I see. These progressives are unaware of the perversion that goes on behind the scenes but it will be too late to turn the clock back once they figure it out.
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 6:29 am
on Jun 1, 2018 at 6:29 am
Seth, the fact that you want to have someone different move away is proof that you are intolerant. No one is forcing you to lower your standards. In fact, conservatives never talk about other people‘s differences as being beneath them. No one is trying to impose their beliefs on you. You are the one calling them perverted. The way I see it, the perversion is when you give immature teenagers the opportunity to make bad choices in an enclosed, unmonitored bathroom.
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:21 am
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:21 am
Seth, I totally agree. Every conservative who can move out of California--should. I say give the liberals the west coast and leave the rest of us alone.
Since the district is so open to new ideas, why don't they designate a singe campus...or even a single wing...strictly for the transgenders... There would be no bullying if they are stick together...
Registered user
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:34 am
Registered user
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:34 am
Dumbfounded, yes I already did move. I am worried about my property values dropping due to the mentality of some moving into our once very conservative community in Danville. I still own property there.
Did you notice how Marie's twisted thinking claims I am trying to get the perverts to move out of our town? When in fact I said all of us conservative traditional values folks should move? I know there are many more conservatives in this town that are too afraid to speak up. I am disgusted as to how many loose moral individuals are moving into our town, claiming they stand for diversity and equality. Give me a break! Don't you mean you lowered your standards and now have been successfully conquered by evil?
Registered user
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:42 am
Registered user
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:42 am
On another note, the public school system is becoming more and more anti God, anti family, anti morals etc. The IQ level of the teachers is inferior to the teachers we once had. There are no standards basically to become a teacher. Of course, the low pay has a lot to do with this. When home schooling used to be looked down upon by many, mostly liberals, it is now really the ONLY way to keep your children safe. Government has consistently tried to shut down incentives for private schools to stay alive. We need to vote conservative all the way to have California go back to the way it was in the 60's. The Civil Rights Act has destroyed our state as have many other laws that are empowering degenerates. I am ashamed to say I was born here.
Registered user
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:42 am
Registered user
on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:42 am
On another note, the public school system is becoming more and more anti God,anti family,anti morals etc. The IQ level of the teachers is inferior to the teachers we once had. There are no standards basically to become a teacher. Of course, the low pay has a lot to do with this. When home schooling used to be looked down upon by many, mostly liberals, it is now really the ONLY way to keep your children safe. Government has consistently tried to shut down incentives for private schools to stay alive. We need to vote conservative all the way to have California go back to the way it was in the 60's. The Civil Rights Act has destroyed our state as have many other laws that are empowering degenerates. I am ashamed to say I was born here.
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:02 am
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:02 am
Seth, I couldn't agree with you more. I would have "liked" your posts, but I'm not given the opportunity! Censoring???
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:03 am
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:03 am
Seth, I stand corrected. I totally misunderstood your original post. If you are a conservative, and are suggesting for other conservatives to move, then I find that totally acceptable.
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:04 am
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:04 am
Dumbfounded, sometimes you have to refresh your screen to be able to like a comment.
Danville
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:54 am
on Jun 1, 2018 at 8:54 am
Thank you, Marie.