NW Valley Times

The Peoria Unified School District continues to stand by its recent decision on student bathrooms, while some board members urged students and families to pursue their education elsewhere.

At the April 27 school board meeting, the board held a contentious vote on whether or not it wanted the administration to create a first draft of a bathroom policy. The policy would restrict students to using the bathrooms associated with the biological gender they were born with. There were many parents, students and community members in attendance who shared their opinions on both sides of the aisle on the matter before the board voted. While board member Rebecca Hill was an advocate for the policy, having been the one who directed it to be on the agenda for the evening, with clerk Heather Rooks' support, board members David Sandoval, Melissa Ewing and William Sorensen voted against the policy, winning the majority, NW Valley Times reported.

"It saddens me, it really breaks my heart," Hill said. "I think our district is going down a very dark road morally. I think it’s just wrong. I would advise parents to use their vouchers elsewhere. I don’t endorse PUSD anymore, I can’t. I would advise parents take the ability at this time to use vouchers, which have been given to them and use them in private schools, online (or) homeschool your kids (and) choose the curriculum, choose what happens with their livelihoods and what happens with them in the future. Public education isn’t going in the right direction. God is not blessing this district."

State Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) was one of many to make his displeasure known on social media, tweeting a report of the board meeting and adding, “Three Democrats on the @PeoriaUnified11 board meeting last night voted down protecting girls from predators in girls' bathrooms; voted in favor of ZERO school resource officers (police); and 23 additional Marxist social workers for the schools. #VoteTheDemocratsOut #HomeSchool”

Several others agreed with him on Twitter, saying they feared for their children's safety.   

Hill followed in his sentiments after the fact, urging students and families to consider seeking their education elsewhere, especially for the young girls who expressed the danger they felt in going into their bathrooms alongside someone born as a male. She urged families to consider using their vouchers from the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) to put their children in private school, online school or homeschool them so that they have control over their education and social upbringing. The ESA is a relatively new program in the state that already has over 53,000 users, a number that is expected to grow rapidly in the coming year.