CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Some parents in Cabarrus County are asking the school district for changes they say will make school life better for some students.
Parent Brandon Matthews went before the Cabarrus County School Board this week to ask for bathroom protections for kids who are uncomfortable using the same bathroom as transgender students.
“We just need a safe zone, perhaps, or just another alternative for anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable,” Matthews said at the meeting. “There is something you can do. You can create a policy.”
Channel 9′s Glenn Counts caught up with Matthews Wednesday afternoon.
Matthews said he’s not anti-transgender but thinks that students who are not comfortable should have options, as well.
“By no means am I against anybody,” Matthews said. “I think, in America, we all have the right to be who we want to be.”
Matthews would like to see the school board create a policy that allows a student who is not comfortable to go to another bathroom or use the staff bathroom.
Counts contacted the school district and officials responded with this statement:
“Cabarrus County Schools does not have a specific policy regarding this matter. Our priority is to ensure that all of our students feel safe and supported. As such, we will continue to provide appropriate bathroom accommodations to any student who may feel uncomfortable.”
The statement didn’t satisfy Matthews and the parents who back him. They want it to be crystal clear what the rights of students are.
“I think it needs to be announced over the loudspeaker so that all kids are aware of it,” he said. “I also think that a paper sent home to all parents and students notifying that this is the option. That, I think honestly, that’s all we’re asking.”
Matthews said he has been talking to the superintendent and he is willing to give him a chance to come up with a solution.
The parents’ plan must wait for now, but they said their patience is limited.
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