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Fort Peck Tribes oppose new directive on transgender students

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Wolf Point High School is a public school on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. Photo from Wolf Point High School Gym Floor Renovation / Facebook

Leaders of the Fort Peck Tribes of Montana are opposing a new federal directive that accommodates transgender students.

Last week, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice issued joint guidance to ensure that all students have equal access to facilities and activities regardless of gender identity. The policy applies to Bureau of Indian Education institutions and public schools on reservations.

But Fort Peck leaders say they should be able to determine their own laws. The council voted 7-0 in favor a policy that requires "separate public use of bathrooms according to gender," KRTV reported.

“We disagreed with the president’s mandate,” council member Ed Bauer told the station. “We don’t have trouble with it in regards to transgender or gay people. We just have a problem with male adults using bathrooms with young girls.”

Bauer said tribal leaders took action in light of recent crimes, including the death of a one-year-old girl and the kidnapping and assault of a four-year-old girl. Neither incident involved bathroom usage, however.

Regardless of the tribe's position, BIE and public schools on the reservation would still be required to follow the new guidance.

"Wolf Point Public Schools does not discriminate in its education and employment programs on the basis of religion, age, race, color, national origin, gender, marital or parental status, or disability," a Notice of Non-Discrimination reads on the website of the Wolf Point School District on the reservation.

Get the Story:
Fort Peck Tribe mirrors transgender bathroom policy after North Carolina law (KRTV 5/24)