Students at Gardner-Edgerton High School stage walkout over proposed transgender bathroom policy

GARDNER, Kan. (KCTV) - Students at Gardner-Edgerton High School walked out of school Friday in response to a proposed transgender bathroom policy.

The district’s Board of Education has been considering a policy stating a student must use a restroom or join a sports team based on the gender noted on the student’s birth certificate. Proposed changes, now, though, make some accommodations for transgender students as long as they identify their gender identity with a district administrator or counselor.

READ MORE: Gardner-Edgerton school board to listen as community weighs in on gender identity proposal

Monday night, the school board met to discuss the proposal which says a student can “use the restroom or locker room that conforms with their gender assigned at birth, or they can use any available unisex facility.”

A student, parent or guardian, under the proposed changes, would have to identify their gender with a district administrator or counselor. They have to notify the district of a student under 18 wanting to be identified with a specific gender identity unless the district’s attorney deems it not necessary.

There is no timetable on when the proposal will be taken up by the school district’s Board of Education, but the proposal is outlined in a document available on the district’s website. The board has yet to vote on the policy.

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