Safety in Rockingham County Public Schools

We, the citizens of Rockingham County, say “NO” to the Virginia Department of Education’s recommendations regarding bathroom utilization. We stand adamantly against abolishing sex-based facilities and giving gender-confused individuals access to private spaces for members of the opposite sex including, but not limited to, restrooms and locker rooms. We are also opposed to single-use bathrooms being built inside the schools. Reasons for our opposition are as follows:

These policies create real and significant safety and privacy risks. Bathrooms open to all genders have long been crime attractors and places in which offenders seek out their victims. Be advised, in 2018 a Georgia school implemented an open bathroom policy. As a result, a 5-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a “gender-fluid” male. This instance is being cited only to give validity to the not only imminent, but already occurring, predicted results of implementing such policies.

We are also resolutely opposed to single-use bathrooms being built inside the schools for a plethora of reasons. They are highly dangerous and undoubtedly will become a venue for all types of unacceptable and illegal behavior within a school setting. Sexual interaction will be commonplace in these single-use bathrooms. This includes both consensual sex and sexual assault. These bathrooms will be an invitation for drug use. Lastly, access to single-use bathrooms is an extreme disservice to those who struggle with suicidal tendencies and temptations. We can do better for these children!

Our goal, and ultimate recommendation, is the continuation of gender-based facilities with faculty bathrooms being provided to students who prefer them. Gender-based facilities provide a reasonable right to privacy for individuals that do not have any type of gender identity issues. Faculty bathrooms provide a reasonable alternative to those who do suffer with these issues.

Let it be known that we acknowledge and love individuals who struggle with gender confusion, dysphoria, etc. On the same token we also do not want to jeopardize the safety and equity of female (and even male) students who do not suffer with the same issues. We are solely interested in equality for individuals on all sides of the spectrum. Consequently, we are not interested in placing any one individual’s rights ahead of another. We simply believe that all individuals should have a right to privacy in a bathroom or other locality in which privacy is assumed within a school setting.