MINNEAPOLIS – Did the Minneapolis school board adopt a radical new policy regarding transgender students without engaging the community in advance?

There’s no way to know for sure, because district officials won’t talk about it. But there’s no obvious trace of any sort of public notice prior to the adoption of the policy, which allows transgender boys to use girls restrooms, and perhaps shower facilities, and the other way around.

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Does that mean the public was carefully kept in the dark, to avoid likely protests from at least some worried parents and other residents?

The nearby St. Paul school district adopted a similar policy last week, and the public was clearly engaged in the months leading up to the school board vote.

A task force with a cross-section of students, parents and district employees was established to study the issue, according to district officials. The proposed policy was well covered by local media, so residents knew it was in the works. The school board discussed the proposal in public.

Finally, when little local opposition reportedly surfaced, the board adopted the policy.

Critics of such policies are concerned about student privacy and safety, and one statewide poll of Minnesota residents suggests widespread public opposition. The Minnesota legislature is considering a bill that would outlaw such school policies.

Minneapolis Public Schools amended its policy regarding transgender students and facility use on Jan. 15, 2014, more than a year before St. Paul. It says the following:

“Students whose gender identity or expression is other than their biological sex shall be given the opportunity to self-select into the group of their gender identity or expression where such gender identity or expression is the consistent identity or expression that they use at school. Reasonable accommodations for showering, dressing or toilet facilities may be used to accommodate all students under these circumstances.”

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But there is some question about whether MPS engaged parents and other residents before making such a serious policy change.

The district’s media office acknowledged the existence of the policy, and even forwarded a copy to EAGnews. But when asked about the process used to adopt it, they stopped responding to emails.

A search for old news reports regarding public discussion or adoption of the policy turned up nothing. A local reporter who covered the Minneapolis school board at the time said he doesn’t recall noticing a new transgender policy under consideration.

An education reporter from the nearby St. Paul Pioneer Press told EAGnews last week that he didn’t think Minneapolis schools has such a policy.

A Minneapolis non-profit organization has researched months of school board minutes without finding any mention of a public discussion of the policy.

The Minneapolis school board obviously engages the public in some circumstances.

In the fall of 2013, for example, the board was considering  a change in its policy regarding discipline of minority students. Board minutes regarding that discussion said, “Significant community and institutional input was sought through many means to inform the process.”

Yet there was no obvious public discussion about the proposed change in transgender policy, despite the potential implications regarding student safety, privacy and dignity.

Some parents and citizens in the Minneapolis district apparently tripped on the new transgender policy by accident.

“Last fall we heard about a parent (in the Minneapolis district) whose child in the third or fourth grade used the bathroom, and a girl came in and used the bathroom as well,” said Michele Lentz, the state coordinator for CPL Action, a non-profit associated with the Minnesota Child Protection League. “When the parent asked the school about it, they said that is their policy.

“I called the superintendent’s office and they said it’s their policy to allow transgender students use the restrooms of their choice. When I asked if that applied to locker rooms as well, they said no. Then one of our board members called and got a slightly different answer.

“In January we found the policy posted on the district’s website. So we put out an alert to our supporters that Minneapolis schools have this policy. Within a week they pulled it off their website. We went back several months and found nothing in school board minutes indicating that this was ever proposed to the public.

“You would think my organization would have been notified about this policy by someone. Someone would have at least forwarded an article. But I have not seen one article about Minneapolis schools adopting such a policy.”

If the issue had been publicized, there probably would have been a debate. 

That’s obvious from the public reaction to a new policy adopted last year by the Minnesota High School Athletic League, which gave transgender boys the right to play on girls school sports teams, as long as they gain approval from school officials, or successfully appeal a denial.

Citizens packed several meetings where the proposed policy was discussed by the MHSAL board, with many in opposition.

“When the public doesn’t know it’s hard for them to be interested,” Lentz said. “There wasn’t much public interest in the sports policy, either, until we took out a full page ad. (MHSAL officials) acknowledged that they hadn’t had a response like that for any subject.

“These policies have a far reaching impact. They affect the mental and physical welfare of children. Because of that I think it was reckless of Minneapolis (district officials) not to alert the public about what they were doing.”

There seems to be some confusion about the wording of the MPS policy, at least regarding the open use of shower facilities by transgender students.

While the policy clearly allows transgender students to “self-identify” and use the facilities of their choice at school, it also says, “separation by gender is a acceptable for the purposes of locker and dressing room use.”

MPS communications officials failed to respond when asked about the apparent discrepancy.