Watertown school gender guidelines; board votes on new policy
WATERTOWN, Wis. - A gender war vote within the Watertown Unified School District, which is leading to possible big changes for students in the district.
The meeting at Riverside Middle School was packed on Monday, Nov. 18, with over 450 people showing up to the school; 350 in the cafeteria, 100 in a room to watch the meeting and people even packed outside, who didn't get in but were listening, banging on doors.
The school district is calling it their "Gender Support Plan." The board moved ahead with a vote Monday night.
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Members approved what it describes as plan "C," which considers "biological sex" in bathroom assignments and sports. Plan "C" means students can only use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their sex assigned at birth.
The same goes for sports. Athletes can only compete on teams that are the same as the person's biological sex. The approved plan also allows staff to drop pronouns or names other than the student's legal name.
The school board also considered another plan, "A," where the school would leave things as is, meaning students would be able to use bathrooms, locker rooms and play sports with the gender they identify with.
"Don’t think we need to have gender-neutral bathrooms considering they’ve been sex generated my whole life," said Michael Makovek, a parent who supported the "C" option. "Why change it now?"
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It was emotional, with strong opinions on both sides.
"I’m hoping that they could … the community comes together to make sure to protect all the children and not create any fear – that we could come together and have rights for everyone," said Maria Cruz, a parent who supported the "A" option. "I feel like all the children need to be who they are in order for them to grow and be educated."
Board members heard from several community members before voting and said they appreciated the passion from families and students. They also amended a portion of the policy, which allows administrations to be flexible with both district and Title IX policies.