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 that course.”

Several speakers described classroom and school experiences they said supported keeping the current protections. Cynthia Young, a Portsmouth High School teacher and GSA adviser, asked whether proposed policy language requiring “evidence” of a student’s gender would be necessary and said language listing hospital records, photos or video as possible evidence “feels invasive.”

Heidi Carrington Heath, executive director of New Hampshire Outright, cited statewide survey data and told the committee that policies are a protective factor for LGBTQ+ youth: “Over 41 percent of transgender kids reported not going to school in the last 30 days because they felt unsafe,” she said, adding that “policies are a protective factor for them.”

Parents described the personal stakes. David Koviak, whose 10‑year‑old is nonbinary, described anxiety and daily stomachaches, saying, “They wake up every day with a stomachache and say they don’t wanna go to school.” Other parents and teachers said students rely on trusted adults at school and that changing privacy rules could erode that trust.

Speakers also discussed athletics and whether district rules should follow the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA). Bill Blum, a statewide advocate, noted that NHIAA had recently suspended a bylaw provision (Article 2, Section 21) and that the NHIAA had consulted counsel in light of recent state legislative activity and a federal executive order affecting federal funding. Committee members requested clearer documentation from NHIAA and said the committee would seek legal guidance on whether to continue to align the district athletic eligibility rules with NHIAA guidance.

School employees and union leaders emphasized the complexity facing teachers, who must follow state educator certification rules, federal requirements and district policy. Erin Botham, president of the Association of Portsmouth Teachers, said educators can be “forced to pick between our livelihoods and what we’re doing, but also the safety of our children.” Several speakers urged the committee to develop procedures, centralized channels for parent questions and staff training so teachers are not the sole decision‑makers on complex legal issues.

Committee members said they would hold a nonpublic meeting with counsel to review the district’s legal obligations and options and would return with a recommendation to the full board. Patty Hayward, assistant superintendent, and other committee members noted overlapping legal streams: ongoing Title VI guidance on nondiscrimination, pending state statutes referenced in testimony, and an upcoming federal assurances process tied to roughly $2.6 million in federal funds that the district must certify.

No formal vote was taken. The committee chair said the next step is a private legal briefing for the committee, then a public recommendation and possible board vote at a later meeting.

The discussion combined local testimony about school climate, requests for procedural safeguards for staff and concerns about the timing of any policy changes while litigation and rule‑making continue at the state and federal levels.