STAFFORD CO., Va. -- Close to one hundred people packed the Stafford County Public Schools school board meeting Tuesday night to discuss a controversy involving the treatment of a local transgender student.
Last week, an LGBTQ rights groups named Equality Stafford said a transgender middle school girl was forced to sit alone on some bleachers at her school as other students in her physical education class participated in a lock down safety drill.
The group said the other boys and girls entered the respective locker rooms of their sex as the teachers debated as to what they should do with the transgender student.
Stafford County Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner apologized for the incident during Tuesday night's school board meeting.
"We did not live up to my unwavering expectation that every child and adult regardless or race, religion, color, disability, gender or sexual orientation is treated with respect and dignity," he said.
Kizner said he did not believe the teachers at the unidentified school purposely acted in a malicious manner. He added he did not believe they were given clear directions as to handle such a situation during a lock down drill.
He told school board meeting attendees that he soon expects the school district to review its policies so a similar incident doesn't happen in the future.
"You have to strike while the iron's hot," he said. "This is obviously a very important issue."
Dozens of people stepped up to a podium to address the school board.
One woman told the audience that she was given a letter that was written by the transgender student from her family. It read that what the student experienced that day was "humiliating" and "embarrassing".
Marvin Stearns, a transgender male who graduated from Stafford Schools and now substitutes in the school district, also talked before the board.
He said immediate action is needed.
"Transgender people are people just like everyone else," he said. "And, they deserve to be safe just like everyone else."
Stearns' mother, Jennifer Stearns, is also a Stafford County Public Schools teacher. She said teachers need more direction.
"I think that teachers are scared," she said. "They don't know what to do and we need the new superintendent to set some guidelines on policies for us so that everyone can be safe."
