After backlash from parents, students are now protesting a controversial policy proposed by a California school district that would require students to seek special accommodations to avoid sharing bathrooms or locker rooms with trans-identified classmates.
Nearly 40 students, along with their parents, staged a walkout at Temecula’s Day Middle School to protest the Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) school board’s proposal, which stalled last month following backlash from the community.
The policy, initially tabled in a 4-1 vote on Aug. 26, would have established guidelines for students seeking exemptions from sharing bathrooms with the opposite sex if they requested a special accommodation because of a mental health issue or religious exemption.
The board is set to revisit the issue at its next meeting on Sept. 9, potentially considering broader opt-out options for students who are uncomfortable with sharing facilities with “a student of the opposite biological sex.”
Protesters, including middle school boys holding signs reading “Safe spaces for girls” and “Protect a child’s right to speak up,” emphasized the need for privacy and single-sex spaces.
Sophia Lorey, outreach director for the California Family Council, attended to support families and document the event. “The students were clear,” Lorey said afterward. “This wasn’t about attacking anyone. They want safe, private, female-only spaces to change for P.E. The boys who joined were there to stand with the girls, not to make trouble, just to say, ‘protect girls’ spaces.’”
In a statement cited by The Press-Enterprise, the school district said it “respects the rights of students and community members to engage in peaceful expression and assembly.
The district also noted that California law requires that students “be allowed to participate in sex-segregated programs and have access to facilities consistent with their gender identity. Any revised proposal will take this requirement into account while addressing the concerns raised by students, parents, and the community.”
Joseph Komrosky, a TVUSD board member who visited the walkout as a concerned parent of the Temecula community, says the district’s “mental health and religious exemption accommodations” framework is the wrong approach.
“I was elected to represent the values of the parents of my community, and the majority of our community in Temecula have traditional family values,” Komrosky explained. “What’s happening at this middle school, when a biological boy enters the girls’ locker room, is anything but traditional. It’s social and political activism.”
He added, “I want every child to have a good and safe education. Parts of this aren’t safe, and students feel their innocence is being robbed. I will continue to fight this moral battle to defend the innocence of children and empower parents.”
District officials say the policy aligns with California Education Code 221.5F, which states, “A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex segregated school programs and activities including athletic teams and competitions and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity irrespective of the gender listed in the pupil records.”
Critics, however, argue the policy unfairly labels students seeking privacy as needing mental health accommodations, raising concerns about stigmatization.
The proposed Mental Health Accommodation Request Form is still pending review by the school district’s attorneys, but a copy of the form shared by influencer Chaya Raichik on Libs of TikTok includes language that requires the parent or guardian to acknowledge the request is made in “accordance with federal and state laws” and asks for a description of the “mental health condition” as well as the nature of the requested accommodation.
