Beginning today, students in the Derby school district will once again be required to use the restrooms that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificates. As KMUW’s Nadya Faulx reports, it’s a reversal from an earlier policy.
Last May, Derby Public Schools began allowing students to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identities. But last week, the school board voted 5-2 to go back to the old policy that says students have to use the bathroom that reflects the sex on their birth certificate.
The vote was in response to a move by President Donald Trump to revoke an Obama-era guideline regarding bathroom access for transgender students. The Trump administration says states and local school districts should make that decision—not the federal government.
Derby Superintendent Craig Wilford says the board made the decision with input from the community.
“I think they had looked at the first guidance letter as not having provided the district any options and second guidance letter providing an opportunity for the board to take a position.”
Wilford says the district wants to respect the rights of all of its students.
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