Transgender Bathroom Debate Takes Center Stage During Meeting At Pine-Richland H.S.
PINE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A meeting held at Pine-Richland High School Thursday night was simply an informational meeting for parents, students and school board members.
They heard from a team of medical experts who specialize in psychology, pediatric medicine and work with transgendered youth.
It was an educational night for many in the Pine-Richland community. The auditorium at the high school was filled with just under 100 people all there to learn more about the transgendered community.
"If they see it from people who have studied it, and understand it fully, I think it will help them a lot," Juliet Evancho, a 17-year-old transgender student, said.
Evancho is a junior at Pine-Richland High School. She's the older sister of singer Jackie Evancho and is a transgendered teen.
"Before all of the bathroom issues started, none of the transgendered students had problems, and after, everything kind of began. Issues started arising and that's kind of been a little tough for us," Evancho said.
Right now, the district doesn't have a specific policy on transgender students' use of restroom facilities. They can use the bathroom they identify with or a private bathroom such as one in the nurse's office. But some parents aren't okay with this.
"When are we going to have experts that come in and talk about the other 99 percent of the kids who aren't transgendered and what effects it has on them," one parent said.
"I just want to make it clear; there is a very small percentage of children upset about transgendered bathrooms. Not 99 percent. It's more like three percent and everybody else doesn't care," one student said.
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Three local experts came to Thursday night's meeting to discuss concerns when it comes to the transgendered community.
"Gender identity is this notion that someone feels or considers themselves more male or more female. This is their deeply-rooted sense of who they are internally," Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh Dr. Michael Marshal, Ph.D. said.
The school board was there and asked the doctors questions to clear up some confusion.
"We believe their sexual orientation is not changeable either," Dr. Marshal said.
"We don't go into a bathroom thinking malicious things. We go into the bathroom to use the bathroom and go back to classes," Evancho said.
Policy deliberations will take place during a public meeting on May 2. The location of that meeting has yet to be announced.