Parents urge clearer social media moderation and call for inclusive, practical approaches to trans student facilities and athletics
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Summary
Two public commenters urged the Tumwater School District Board to tighten moderation on the district's social media pages after hateful comments targeted a recent post, and to pursue accommodations for transgender students that they described as practical and less invasive.
Two members of the public addressed the Tumwater School District Board during the public comment period, urging changes to district social media moderation after abusive responses to a district post and offering proposals for accommodating transgender students in facilities and athletics.
Courtney Brown, who identified herself as a U.S. Navy veteran and a parent of a current and a future district student, said the district's social media team posted a tribute to an LGBTQ veteran and that the post received hateful comments before the district removed it. Brown said she was targeted with slurs in the post's comment thread and that the post was later deleted. She told the board commenters had amplified the post on external social media platforms and that local candidates had amplified the issue on campaign channels.
Brown asked the board to limit who can comment on the district Facebook page to verified members of the Tumwater School District community after the election, suggesting a moderation approach similar to community-only pages to reduce abusive, off-site amplification. "I recommend that we limit the comment section to people that are members of the Tumwater School District community page and we limit membership to people that are local to the community," she said.
Another commenter, identified as Catherine, addressed concerns raised in the community about transgender students. She recommended converting locker rooms to individual changing areas and suggested basing sports participation on testosterone levels as a less invasive alternative to examining students' anatomy. Catherine also referenced state law and OSPI guidance and district policies (which she cited as "32 10, 32 11" in her remarks) and urged the board to prioritize classroom issues such as class size, staffing, transportation and mental health support over community controversies.
The board accepted the comments during the public comment period but did not take action during the meeting. Earlier in the meeting a district official apologized to D.J. Leimer, president of the Del Mar Education Association, for a prior miscommunication that kept him from speaking at a previous meeting.
No formal policy changes were proposed by the board at the meeting; public commenters were invited to submit written comments or contact the board after the meeting.