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Public commenters tell Winthrop School Board proposed transgender sports policy risks lawsuits and staff losses
Summary
Teachers, parents and students urged the Winthrop School Board to halt or rescind a proposed policy restricting transgender girls from girls’ sports, saying it likely conflicts with Title IX and the Maine Human Rights Act and could expose the district to costly litigation and staffing losses.
Several Winthrop educators, parents and students told the Winthrop School Board at its meeting that a recently advanced policy to restrict transgender girls from girls’ sports could violate federal and state law and harm the district’s finances and reputation.
Elizabeth Peters, a building representative for the Winthrop Education Association and an English teacher at Winthrop Middle School, said the board "rushed to pass a policy that would ban transgender females from playing on girls' sports teams" and warned the policy would "choose a tiny population of people to discriminate against." Peters said staff and community members brought concerns from the prior meeting and that some staff have stated they are seeking other employment because they view the policy as hateful.
Why it matters: multiple speakers argued the policy carries legal and budgetary risk. Whitney Khan, a Winthrop resident, said legal counsel and administrators had advised on the record that the policy violates Maine law and asked whether the board has estimated defense costs, noting that the district's legal-insurance collective cap was described on the record as $250,000 and citing Doe v. RSU 26 (2014) as an example in which the court ordered $75,000 in penalties.
Board process and requests: a public commenter reading on behalf of Kat Hoye requested a public accounting of which Winthrop Public Schools policies are being created, revised or repealed in relation to proposed changes to Policy JB; which consultants or organizations the district has contacted about policy changes; accrued costs for consultants and legal fees; and what budget lines cover expected legal exposure. The reader also reported that outside groups have contacted districts offering to assist with litigation costs.
Community appeal: parent and community member Beth Durocher urged the board to "go back to the important work" and asked the board to bring a motion to rescind the contentious policy idea and end what she described as a divisive moment for the district.
What the board said: the chair closed public comment after in-person remarks and did not take immediate action; the policy committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 5 p.m. to continue reviewing policies related to transgender students. Speakers asked that the board respond to the specific community questions at a future meeting.
Next steps: the policy committee review and requests for a fiscal/legal accounting were the main follow-ups noted on the record.
