There are a couple of lawsuits in New Hampshire challenging the New Hampshire School Boards Association (NHSBA) transgender JBAB policy. This time, Ohio parents filed a lawsuit based on what you would find in the JBAB policy that has been adopted in several schools throughout New Hampshire.
For many years, the NHSBA pushed this harmful policy on New Hampshire schools. They finally retracted their support for JBAB after a few parents in New Hampshire filed lawsuits against their local. Unfortunately, JBAB remains as a policy in many schools in New Hampshire. Parents should know that their tax dollars are used to financially support the NHSBA when the district pays dues out of your school budget.
JBAB not only says that biological males and females can use the restroom of their opposite sex, it also includes a provision that forces school personnel to lie to parents if a student requests a name change at school.
I have been told that girls in the Manchester School District have been refraining from using the restroom based on the JBAB policy. Some of them do not want to share the restroom with biological males. Parents and students in other NH districts have also reported to their school boards that some girls are uncomfortable using the restroom under these conditions.
From the article: Ohio school district sued for transgender bathroom policy that caused students to ‘hold their urine’ (emphasis mine)
An Ohio school district is facing a lawsuit from a group of Muslim and Christian parents after allowing students to use bathrooms corresponding to their stated gender identity rather than their biological sex.
America First Legal filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the parents against Bethel Local School District, located north of Dayton, accusing the district of violating the Title IX protections of students and infringing on parental rights.
According to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the Bethel school board adopted a new policy in January 2022 that allowed students to use bathroom facilities based on their gender identity. Previously, transgender students predominantly used a gender-neutral bathroom, according to the lawsuit.
The interfaith group of parents who sued Tuesday say the district is infringing on their ability to exercise their religious beliefs and to direct the upbringing of their children by forcing them to conform to the district’s policy favoring transgender students. The lawsuit also says the district has violated Title IX and Ohio law by implementing the policy.
AND
Since the policy has been in place, the lawsuit claims that the children of the plaintiffs have felt uncomfortable using the bathroom at school and have resorted to “hold[ing] their urine and avoid[ed] using the restroom at school if at all possible.”
“If the students have to use the restroom, it causes them anxiety and emotional distress because of Bethel’s policies,” the lawsuit says. “It also assaults their modesty as they fear that they will be exposed to the opposite sex.”
The changes were met with concern from community members who “tried to find solutions that would value and respect all members of the community” but were ignored by the board.
In one instance, the lawsuit says a group of local Muslims donated money to the school district to build a gender-neutral bathroom adjacent to existing bathrooms so that transgender students could use that facility. The district built the bathroom but failed to inform the donors it would not require transgender students to use it, the lawsuit claims.
If any New Hampshire students are in the same predicament, feel free to reach out to me at banfieldannmarie@gmail.com. I will check to see if any legal actions against local schools are underway in New Hampshire too.