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The Mead School District is to weigh in on their policies around gender identity. Washington Superintendent Chris Reykdal, however, has a simple message for the board: Follow state law.

“What I would say is, follow state law, follow state law, and then, if you’re not sure, follow state law,” Reykdal said.

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What is the Mead School Board concerned about?

Reykdal’s comments came in response to a letter the Mead School Board authored asking for clarity regarding differing policies and directives from the state and federal government.

Specifically, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) flagged the district for improper policies on pronoun use and restroom access for its transgender students.

The Mead School District’s policy for students’ pronouns says staff are to “refrain from the use of gender pronouns and refer to the student by name whenever practical,” according to .ÌýThere’s also questions around whether or not the district’s bathroom policies conform to state requirements.

The legal conundrum

These policies don’t align with state regulations, according to Reykdal, but are in closer agreement with President Donald Trump’s overarching goals with the federal education system.

“Not only is the school board facing a legal dilemma (not of its own making), but it has also 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 in OSPI is trying to enforce in policy 3211, no matter what it does,” the letter, obtained by , read. “As a school board, we have thus become cannon fodder in an ongoing culture war.”

According to the letter, the Mead School Board voiced concerns that if they complied with Washington’s anti-discrimination laws, they’d be disregarding Trump’s executive orders, risking cuts from federal funding.

“There’s no evidence yet that the Trump administration is pulling money out of states when you’re not in compliance with their view of the world because I think they know they don’t have a legal authority to do that, short of Congress making those laws,” Reykdal said.

The Mead School Board is meeting on March 24 to review potential changes to the district’s policies.

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