Dozens urge District 109 to protect transgender students as locker-room dispute draws national attention

Dozens of residents, students, clergy and advocacy groups used the District 109 public-comment period to urge the school board to uphold policies protecting transgender students and to push back against what many speakers called misinformation and bullying.

Supporters said recent local publicity and outside media attention have put a single Shepherd Middle School student and the district under an unfair and dangerous spotlight. "My son is transgender, and his only goal in life is to live it authentically," said parent Haley Hirsch. "Affirming my child is ... protecting him in a world that too often wants to erase him."

The comments came during the meeting—s public-participation period. Speakers on both sides of the issue appealed to the board and the community—s values — supporters asking the district to maintain privacy and safety for transgender students, and opponents pressing for guarantees of privacy for cisgender girls in locker rooms.

Why it matters: Speakers said the dispute has…