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Winthrop School Board hears hours of public comment over proposed transgender policy changes; board asks policy committee for June 3 draft
Summary
At a packed Winthrop School Board meeting, dozens of residents, students and staff weighed in on a March 4 directive to revise policy JB (transgender student guidelines). Administrators said current practices are working; the board directed the policy committee to deliver a revised draft by June 3, 2026.
Dozens of residents, students and staff filled the Winthrop School Board meeting to debate a March 4 directive that would require the district to revise policy JB, the board’s transgender student guidelines.
The meeting opened with repeated public testimony on both sides of the issue. Whitney Khan, a Winthrop parent who earlier submitted proposed charter changes, told the board the March 4 motion “conflicts with Maine law” and that the directive bypassed the district’s policy-adoption procedures. “Facts were not presented,” Khan said, urging a rescission of the March 4 motion.
Students and parents appeared on both sides. Sophie Schuman, a Winthrop High School sophomore and multisport athlete, said female teams exist to “protect fairness and safety in girls sports,” adding, “When girls play against boys, the playing field changes.” By contrast, Anthony Wheeler, a Winthrop resident who identified as a transgender man, urged the board to keep current guidance, saying restrictive policies increase harm and isolation for transgender youth. “Trans girls are not boys. Trans girls deserve to be in these spaces just as much as cisgender girls,” Wheeler said.
School administrators — elementary principal Teresa Violet, middle‑school principal Lorie Smail and the high‑school principal — told the board the district currently offers multiple single‑use restrooms and private changing options and reported no standing concerns with existing practices. Athletic directors Joe Burnham and Joel Stonton said the district had not had a transgender athlete involved in school athletics during their tenures and noted the Maine Principals Association (MPA) has long‑standing participation rules used by schools statewide.
Legal guidance presented to the board framed the issue as complex: attorneys described tensions between the Maine Human Rights Act and federal Title IX as creating conflicting obligations for some districts. Several board members said attorneys had told them the matter is legally difficult and that “no matter what we do, we are breaking some sort of law.”
Board members debated how to proceed. A motion to postpone any changes until after the November election failed. The board later approved a different timetable: members asked the policy committee to draft a revised JB policy and return with a policy ready for the board’s June 3 meeting so the board can review language informed by further legal and procedural analysis.
Several residents warned of the district’s financial exposure if litigation follows a policy change; other speakers said adopting exclusionary rules would harm students and the town’s reputation. Superintendent Dr. Foley said administrators and district legal counsel had advised the board and that district staff had worked to accommodate students’ privacy and safety needs.
The board’s next step is a policy‑committee process to translate the legal guidance and administrative input into clear draft language. The board did not repeal or adopt a final policy at the meeting; rather, it set a June 3 timeline for a committee draft and further board consideration.
The next procedural step is the policy committee’s drafting schedule and the board’s June 3 meeting when the draft will be presented for consideration.
