Portsmouth policy committee hears community pleas to retain protections for transgender students amid legal uncertainty

Portsmouth — Members of the Portsmouth School Board policy committee heard more than an hour of public comment Wednesday as community members, teachers and youth advocates urged the district to keep existing protections for transgender and nonbinary students in place while legal and regulatory developments are clarified.

The meeting focused on three draft or reviewed policies: JVAB (student privacy and gender identity), JLP (parental notification and involvement in student welfare) and JICC (eligibility for interscholastic athletics). Chair Pip Fuentes, chair of the policy committee and a school board member, opened the session by saying the committee had brought the discussion back for more community input before meeting with legal counsel.

The comments underscored concern about students’ safety and mental health if the district weakens privacy protections or changes how schools handle gender identity information. Vicky Boyd, a Portsmouth resident and parent, said the district had been a place of inclusion and asked the committee to “stay…