This will be very short. But I think it’s important to note to Polk Superintendent Jackie Byrd’s calm, adult voice in the great bathroom freakout of 2016.
The Ledger had good story about this on Friday. So I won’t go into much detail. But I think Byrd and the district leadership struck just the right tone here in addressing the guidance from the federal Department of Education concerning protections for transgender children.
Key quote:
“We’re going to comply with law,” Polk Superintendent of Schools Jacqueline Byrd said Friday. “We’ll handle it with the utmost care in the district, but we’re going to make sure we comply with law.”
Here’s an additional passage:
A statement sent out by Polk County Public Schools says the district is also reviewing the guidance. For now, it says, the district is following the law as it has interpreted it in the past: by working with transgender students on a case-by-case basis to accommodate their needs, including single-use restrooms.
That’s remarkably sensible. It contrasts rather starkly with the petri dish of gross comments on the Ledger’s story — and those people who like to post goofy, cruel bathroom memes on Facebook or wherever, as if they were insecure 11-year-olds.
Dignity and decency don’t always win; but they do generally stand out against petty cruelty. Thanks to Jackie Byrd for providing an example here.