It took one Texas school superintendent just five minutes to debunk the transgender bathroom panic.
At a Tuesday board meeting, Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) Superintendent Dr. Kent P. Scribner defended his districtâs anti-discrimination policies, which allow students to use restrooms that correspond with âthe gender identity that each student consistently and uniformly asserts.â
âI am proud of the guidelines that weâve developed,â he said. âAnd Iâm proud that weâre able to support this policy to provide our educators with a framework to make all studentsâwhether they are transgendered or notâcomfortable and confident in the learning environment.â
The room cheered but the superintendent deferred the praise to the board, saying that âthereâs no need to applaudâ him in particular. Scribner, formerly the superintendent of the largest high school district in Arizona, was not even at FWISD when the board laid the groundwork for the current trans-inclusive policy.
Not everyone is clapping for Scribner, of course. On Monday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for the superintendent to resign from his post.
But Scribner, who approved the new guidelines back in April, is holding his ground. On Tuesday, he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he would not resign and, at the board meeting that same day, he directly refuted Patrickâs concerns.
Those who support restrictions on transgender bathroom usage often claim to be concerned about the safety of women and children. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, for example, likes to call his stateâs hotly-contested anti-transgender law a âcommonsenseâ privacy measure.Lt. Gov. Patrick is no exception to this trend. In his statement calling for Scribnerâs resignation, Patrick tried to make the debate about âsafetyâ rather than discrimination.
âCampus safety should be of paramount concern for anyone in his position,â Patrick wrote. âEvery parent, especially those of young girls, should be outraged.â
But there is no evidence to suggest that transgender-inclusive policies pose any threat. There are no instances of a transgender person attacking a non-transgender person in a bathroom and existing laws can be used to penalize anyone who harasses or assaults someone in a restroom.
At Tuesdayâs board meeting, Scribner handily brushed Patrickâs âsafetyâ argument aside, noting that he ârespectfully disagree[s] with the lieutenant governor.
âThis is not about compromising the safety, wellbeing, or needs of any child, whether they be transgendered or not,â he said. âThe guidelines do not sayânor would we everâ indiscriminately send boys into girlsâ restrooms or girls into boysâ restrooms.â
Indeed the language in the policyâreferring to âgender identityâ that must be âconsistentlyâ and âuniformlyâ asserted by the studentâis far from indiscriminate. Gender identity is not a convenient excuse to enter a restroom; it is officially recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) as a deeply-held âsense of oneselfâ (PDF).
Not only is the new FWISD policy carefully worded, it also includes a provision allowing any studentâtransgender or notâto access a single-stall or private restroom if they are uncomfortable sharing space with other students, as the Star-Telegram editorial board noted in their endorsement.
With this concession in place, it is hard to imagine a possible objection to the policy. But even so, Scribner displayed an immense amount of respect and patience on Tuesday for parents who might believe the myths around transgender bathroom use.
âNow, I understand this is a tough issue and there are strong and legitimate feelings on both sides,â he noted. âBut these complicated issues are not handled well by press conferences and social media posts.â
At the end of his remarks, the superintendent invited any parent who takes issue with the new policy to speak with him personally so that he can âaddress their concerns.â But as the father of a girl in his own school district, he also made it clear that he will not abide accusations that he has no regard for student safety.
âI am interested only in protecting, educating, and serving our students,â he said. âAnd it is disingenuous to characterize this as anything but that.â