At the board meeting on 1/10/22, the Bethel Local School Board announced the following stance on the restroom and locker room policy for their K-12 campus:

“At the beginning of the year the district has adopted the stance (…inaudible…) that transgender students may use the restroom that aligns with their gender status upon advice received from our attorney.

The statement given to us follows:

“Several United States courts of appeals (including the sixth circuit court of appeals in which Ohio is located) have determined that Title IX of the educational amendment of 1972 requires that transgender students be granted access to the restrooms and locker rooms of their sexual identification…””

This stance was adopted on 1/1/22. The public board meeting announcing it was on 1/10/22.

This decision was made and enacted without a vote by the Bethel Local School Board.

There was no notification to parents.

There was no notification to students.

The Bethel Local Schools campus is a K-12 facility. Students from ages 5-19 use the facilities located throughout.

Many emails have been sent to the administration and board of Bethel Local Schools to clarify this stance. To date, we the people are not satisfied with the legalese that has been the standard response.

Join us in showing the Board of Education they were too hasty in their decision on this topic, and that it is a valid safety concern. Let’s make our voices heard NOW since they felt it acceptable to move forward with this decision without hearing concerns from the community. Lack of concern for the safety of ALL students at Bethel Local Schools is unacceptable.

Please sign this petition to demand the Bethel Local Schools Board of Education retract their decision until adequate safety measures are put into place for all students on campus!