Dear Appling County Citizens:
On Friday, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice issued a joint “Dear Colleague Letter” regarding the rights of transgender students in the K-12 education setting.
Appling County Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Scarlett M. Copeland firmly believe the “Dear Colleague Letter” openly violates, misinterprets and moves to rewrite established U.S. law. State School Superintendent, Richard Wood and Georgia Department of Education share this same belief. This is an overreach of power by the Executive Branch of the federal government which is compounded by the threat to withhold federal funds if the letter is not followed.
State School Superintendent Wood stated, “As this guidance does not have the force of law, you are not required to comply with this directive or make changes to your established actions and policies. However, if the federal government does decide to withhold federal funds, enforce this directive, or bring suit against any district in Georgia because of a decision a local district makes, we will work with all parties to take appropriate action.”
Appling County School District does not intendent to comply with this directive. Both Appling County Schools and the State Department believe there are fundamental elements in public schools, including a safe school environment and an appropriate response to individual student needs. We do believe there are potential safety and privacy concerns connected with permitting students of different genders to use the same bathroom and locker rooms. For these reasons, we do not believe a student of another gender should use the restroom or locker room alongside of the students of the opposite sex.
We also applaud Superintendent Wood for stating if local school districts have any issues arise regarding this area, they will work with all involved to take appropriate action as stated above.