Mead School Board in Washington has called for the Trump administration to intervene after the board was pressured to comply with state gender inclusion policies.
The school board sent letters to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting their assistance in the matter. According to the board, the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is urging the conservative board to adopt a policy that allows trans-identifying individuals to participate in women’s sports, blocks school staff from notifying parents of a child’s gender identity, and forces schools to prioritize state policies rather than federal orders.
Mead School Board President Michael Cannon said in a statement, “The vast majority of our community has made it abundantly clear that it does not support a policy that excludes parents from critical decisions regarding their children.”
Vice President of the Mead School Board BrieAnne Gray similarly said the issue “is not just about policy – it’s about the rights of our parents and the safety of our students.” Gray asserted, “We must uphold their trust and ensure their voices are heard in decisions affecting their children.”
In its letters to McMahon and Bondi, the school board wrote that it is “facing a legal dilemma” and has been “put in the untenable position of being ‘unable to win’ with its stakeholders and constituents, the majority of whom are opposed to the concepts” OSPI is attempting to enforce upon them. The board added in the letter that it requests “assurance of federal funding,” “clarification of federal preemption,” and an “investigation of civil rights and parental rights violations.”
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January that pulls federal funding from schools that support “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination,” including gender ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
