Students Walk Out to Protest Pennsylvania School Board’s Vote to Reject Transgender Bathroom Ban: Report

Hundreds of students at a Pennsylvania school district staged a walkout on Friday over a proposed ban on all gender-inclusive bathrooms that was voted down by officials, according to reports.

The protest targeted the Perkiomen Valley School District Friday after a policy proposal requiring transgender students to use the restroom corresponding with their biological sex failed, Fox News reported.

John Ott, a student who organized the walkout, said "Kids Were upset" during an interview with Fox and Friends First on Monday.

Brandon Emery also took part in the protest.

“It makes me feel as if me and my sister and the rest of us students’ rights are compromised,” Emery told Fox News.

The policy was introduced at a school board meeting on Sept. 5. It came after instances where transgender students used bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity.

The schools’ superintendent said this raised questions and “caused surprise for some.”

Dr. Barbara A. Russell said transgender students comprise approximately 1% of the high school’s total enrollment.

She said accommodations have been provided for transgender students, including access to the nurse's suite bathroom, single-use facilities, and, in recent years, gender identity-aligned larger bathrooms.

The proposed policy to limit bathroom usage exclusively based on one's biological sex did not gain approval at a packed meeting last Monday where numerous members of the public offered their opinions on the policy.

Some argued that the rights of cisgender students are being affected, making them uncomfortable when using bathrooms.

“Up until the first week of school, there had not been any concerns raised to administration, teachers, or coaches by students or parents about restroom use,” Russell said.

She added that the bathrooms are not “co-ed” and, “Administration does not permit, nor has it been informed of, boys entering the girl’s room freely or vice versa.”

The failed proposal was sparked by a girl who encountered someone in the bathroom she thought may have been a boy.

"The fact of the matter is, my daughter will go to school and not use a restroom here now," Tim Jagger told WPVI-TV. "She is too upset and emotionally disturbed to walk into a restroom."

The discussion surrounding restroom use will continue at the school board on Tuesday evening.

Russell says the goal is to foster civil discourse and explore potential accommodations under the restroom policy.

Perkiomen Valley High School is in Montgomery County, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Students there previously walked out last April in a protest over certain books being pulled from the district’s school libraries.