Hundreds of students from the Perkiomen Valley School District walked out of class last week after their school board did not enact a policy requiring students to use bathrooms corresponding with their biological sex.
WPVI-TV in Philadelphia reports that proposed Policy 720 came after a local father posted on social media that his daughter was left "too upset and emotionally disturbed" to walk into school bathrooms after having an encounter with an apparent male student in one of the facilities.
"I am so encouraged, and I just want to commend all these students," says Alexis Sneller, policy and communications officer at the Pennsylvania Family Institute. "This was so brave and so important, but in a way, it's also sad that it was left to the students to advocate for their own privacy rights when the school board should be the one to step in and protect them."
She believes the walkout, which has made national headlines, was impactful and can make a difference.
As for the school board, Sneller says other votes are possible.
"What we're hoping for is that the school board will listen to what hundreds of students in the school are saying, that they will keep bathrooms and locker rooms sex-segregated, where the girls' restroom is for girls and the boys' is for boys," she tells AFN.
In fact, her organization hopes to see that all across Pennsylvania and all across the country.
"I think that this is just a great wake-up call for families and students to get involved in their school board, to find out what their school's policies are, and go to school board meetings," the policy analyst submits.
