Public commenters urge Berwick Area SD to drop written-name requirement, warn policies would harm transgender students

BERWICK AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT — Dozens of residents urged the Berwick Area School District board on Thursday to abandon or revise two proposed policies — policy 2-16 on student records and preferred names and policy 7-19 on multi-user privacy facilities — saying the rules would single out transgender students, harm their mental health and expose the district to legal challenges.

Speakers representing towns across the district criticized a requirement in policy 2-16 that the board described as requiring a handwritten, in-person note to authorize use of a student’s preferred name or pronouns. Christina Culver, a Salem Township resident, described the rule as “a direct outing of trans students” and said, “Use your common sense. Protect our children.”

The public commenters focused on two lines of concern: student safety and process. On safety, several speakers cited research they said shows large differences in mental-health outcomes for transgender youth who are affirmed at school versus those who are rejected. Jill Freeman, a borough resident, told the board that in a district of fewer than 3,000 students, applying a 1 percent national estimate of transgender prevalence would mean “fewer than 30 kids,” and she cited studies she said link use of chosen names and access to gender-affirming facilities with lower rates of severe depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts. Heather Frater, who said she is a Berwick resident, said, “Trans kids aren’t asking for special treatment. They’re asking to survive long enough to graduate.”

On legality and precedent, multiple speakers — including Claudia Glenn of Salem Township — pointed to lawsuits brought by the ACLU and objections from the Education Law Center to similar policies in other Pennsylvania districts. Glenn raised concerns about board procedure, saying controversial policies were placed on a consent agenda and compressed into a single vote. She also raised accessibility concerns, saying the district did not provide adequate microphone use so the public could follow discussion.

Other commenters pressed process questions: how policies reach the agenda, the composition and role of the policy committee, and whether the board consults administrators, staff and subject-matter experts when drafting rules. One speaker said the policy committee functioned as “a committee of one,” and asked whether the board president was serving as an ex officio committee member.

Speakers also cited state-level protections and guidance. Several referenced the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and the state Sunshine Act while warning that adopting the proposed policies could expose the district to complaints or litigation. Eric Berg, who identified himself as a resident, cited Pennsylvania youth-survey figures and national comparisons, and referenced a German law change described as the Self Determination Act in the course of arguing for simpler processes for name and gender-marker changes.

No formal board action or vote on the policies was recorded in the public comment segments of the transcript provided. Commenters repeatedly urged the board to open the policies to fuller public discussion, to remove them from a consent agenda, and to adopt school-wide bullying-prevention measures rather than rules they said would single out a small number of students.

The meeting record included several direct appeals to the board’s stated duty to protect students. Christina Culver closed her remarks by saying she and her spouse had delivered a written statement to the district office granting their child permission to use any name or pronouns the child chooses; Culver said the family would allow the child to change names or pronouns “yearly, monthly, daily, hourly.” The board’s next step on policies 2-16 and 7-19 was not specified in the public-comment transcript.

Sources: public comments at the Berwick Area School District board meeting, statements by Christina Culver; Jill Freeman; Heather Frater; Claudia Glenn; Eric Berg; and multiple other residents recorded in the meeting transcript.