LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Gender bathroom issues are creating havoc in Michigan schools. Williamston Community Schools (WCS) is the latest community flush with drama because the school district is currently being investigated by the Michigan Dept. of Civil Rights (MDCR) for failing to follow its policies regarding gender identity.

Vicki Levengood, communications director at MDCR, confirmed the complaint without specifics. However, Levengood said that unequal treatment based on gender identity is the basis of the complaint made by a Williamston student (student X) in September. The investigation started in October.

What’s the complaint?

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The Lansing State Journal reported the Williamston school district had notified the family of student X that they wouldn’t be allowing the student to use the bathroom that “corresponded with their gender identity” and that they would have to use the one based on the sex assigned to them at birth – or they could use the office bathroom or nurse’s bathroom.

Ann Mullen, Communications Director for the ACLU of Michigan, told Michigan News Source they represent the student in “the complaint against the Williamston School District which will not permit her to use restrooms that align with her gender identity.” Mullen added the investigation is ongoing.

Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan, had sent a letter to the school district about the issue and afterward said he did not receive a responsive answer.

Kaplan argued, “A student won’t feel safe using a bathroom that doesn’t match with their gender identity.” He added, “If the student is told to use a separate bathroom entirely…this can make them feel ostracized.”

The complaint against WCS comes after the expansion of the Elliot- Larsen Civil Rights Act in March. It includes sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class. In 2017, the Williamston school board approved a policy that says the district would recognize a student’s chosen gender “once the student and/or his or her parent/guardian, as appropriate, notifies District administration that the student intends to assert a gender identity that differs from previous representations or records.”

According to Kaplan, the school district previously allowed transgender students to use the bathroom facilities that aligned with their gender identity. However, that it ended in 2022.

It’s happening in other districts, too.

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Discussions of bathrooms and gender identity are not just happening in Williamston. There are many communities that have parents, students, school staff and community members taking sides on the issue with one side saying that transgenders should be able to choose the bathroom they wish to use and the other side citing safety and privacy concerns among students who have to share bathrooms and/or locker rooms with the opposite sex.

In Potterville, at the beginning of December, community members showed up at a board meeting to discuss the school district’s bathroom policies after learning on Facebook about a transgender student using a specific bathroom in one of the schools.

In Vicksburg, about 15 miles south of Kalamazoo, students and their guardians have sued Vicksburg Community Schools and district administrators, alleging they allowed “biological males” to use the girls’ multi-user private restrooms and locker rooms. The lawsuit was in response to fear and privacy concerns for the girls attending the school and was filed by attorney and 2022 Republican Attorney General candidate Matt DePerno in August. The lawsuit states, “This case is about the intentional violation of children’s fundamental right to bodily privacy contrary to constitutional and statutory principles, including the Fourteenth Amendment.”

In November, the school district filed its answer to the allegations and denied more than 100 claims in the lawsuit. This included allegations that Principal Adam Brush and Vice Principal Matthew Hawkins told students to look the other way and “tolerate” the situation so as not to embarrass a male student who had allegedly exposed his genitalia in a school bathroom.

Arguments by the plaintiff’s attorney said students shouldn’t be forced to use multi-user facilities with the opposite sex in locker rooms and bathrooms. The school says, “There is no evidence that a transgender student was any less discrete than any other student while using the bathroom or that the stall doors in the bathroom do not provide adequate privacy to all.”

Some colleges are making changes.

At Grand Valley State in west Michigan, the school is currently constructing all-gender multi-stall restrooms. The school put up a notice in the Kirkhof Center announcing the construction that began on Monday. It said, “The Kirkhof Center is excited to house the first all-gender, multi-stall restrooms at GVSU!” For those who don’t want to share restrooms with the opposite sex because of safety or privacy issues, the notice  gives a list of locations where single-gender restrooms are available.

It’s unclear who will prevail in the gender bathroom war in the state or across the country. Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring K-12 schools to provide gender-neutral bathrooms by 2026. In Michigan, University of Michigan-Flint has at least 14 gender-inclusive restrooms throughout their campus after advocacy by its students, faculty and staff. Progressive-leaning schools, universities, cities and states continue to push forward with rules and laws allowing transgenders in the bathrooms of their choice, but current and future litigation, including possibly at the Supreme Court someday, could throw cold water on their plans.