'Blatant show of transphobia': Copley pushes back on school board member's rhetoric

Copley High School junior Adrian Rehill stood outside his high school auditorium, like he has after every theater performance of his high school career, and took in the congratulatory comments of numerous audience members.

But it wasn't a musical or a play Adrian had just performed. In the eyes of many who congratulated him, it was an act of bravery.

In front of the Copley-Fairlawn City Schools board and a couple hundred audience members, Adrian spoke about his right to an education and a safe environment as a student and a person who is transgender.

"We all deserve to feel safe and welcome in our place of education," Adrian said in his speech. "Do I not deserve that?"

Being a transgender teen is not easy, Adrian said.

"It sucks. Constantly feeling out of place, uncomfortable in your own skin, and ostracized in your communities," he said. "High school is supposed to be the best years of my life, thinking about my future and working hard to achieve my goals, but here I am today, sharing my story on why I should be able to feel safe in my learning environment instead of doing homework or spending time with my family."

Adrian was at Tuesday night's school board meeting because word had quickly spread about comments one new school board member, Trevor Chuna, made at the board's previous work session, which is a public meeting of the board where no votes are taken.

Minutes from that March 11 meeting show Chuna had asked the administration for information on several topics related to LGBTQ issues and advocated for the district to adopt a policy that would require staff to tell a student's parents if they express any sentiment of questioning their gender. He also asked about a policy around bathroom usage, for an approved literature list, and about high school clubs that have an LGBTQ purpose.

"Mr. Chuna believes parental consent should be required for these types of clubs because he's aware that some students got involved and started questioning their sexuality and the parents were not aware," the minutes state.

The minutes also state he issued concern about books on racism.

"Mr. Chuna explained that the extra credit books being offered at the high school English class all deal with racism and you wonder if a certain ideology is being pressed," the minutes said. "He said the books should be ideologically neutral."

Chuna, who was elected in November and started on the board in January, said after Tuesday's meeting that "at the end of the day, it's just asking questions" that other members of the community have but are "afraid to say anything." He encouraged people to listen to his personal recording of the work session, which he posted on his website.

"I'm not here to discount anyone's experiences," he said. But he said his questions come from "personal experiences" of his children and of others in the district. He cited the possibility his fifth grade daughter could be in a locker room with an "eighth grade man."

The minutes from March 11 indicate Superintendent Brian Poe answered many of Chuna's questions with information about how situations have been handled thus far, but also pushed back on several of Chuna's suggestions, including limiting pride flags.

"Mr. Poe said that the legal advice he received is in public education that you don't check your First Amendment right at the door," the minutes said.

Chuna's comments in that March 11 work session prompted what Board President Jim Borchik called the "second-biggest" crowd he's seen in his decades with the district at Tuesday's regular board meeting. There was nothing on the agenda dealing with LGBTQ issues, but about a dozen people spoke during public comment. The majority were in support of LGBTQ students and spoke of the need for their basic existence in schools not to be questioned.

School board meetings becoming battlegrounds for LGBTQ issues

Transgender people remain one of the most vulnerable populations, with one recent survey showing nearly half of transgender youth had seriously considered suicide.

LGBTQ issues, especially transgender issues, have become a lightening rod for conservatives in recent years, with legislatures, including Ohio's, passing several anti-trans bills that limit everything from bathroom usage to medical care doctors can provide for their young transgender patients, even though such care would require parental consent.

School boards have also become the new home for these issues to be debated, especially in suburban districts, and especially around issues of bathroom and locker room usage, approved curriculum materials and other books made available to students.

Copley hadn't needed to grapple with these issues at the school board level, Borchik said, with cases of need or accommodations made for students on an individual level.

"I know the problems that exist elsewhere," he said. "I'm appreciative of what we have."

He said he doesn't mind Chuna asking questions but believes "there's no 'there' there."

Parent says bullying of transgender child 'flies under the radar'

In Tuesday's meeting, Adrian pushed back on reported questions Chuna asked about transgender students using school bathrooms.

"If you're so worried about what goes on in the school bathrooms, why don't you address the current issues − vaping, sex," Adrian said. "Because that's a continuous issue, not trans people trying to actually use the bathroom for the intended purpose."

One woman spoke tearfully about rates of suicide and attempted suicide among LGBTQ youth. For her, she said, it was personal, citing a "close call" in her family and gratitude for Copley staff who helped her child.

Speakers explained that not all parents are a safe place for LGBTQ kids and teens to be themselves or talk about their sexuality or gender identity. In some cases, their school counselor may be a lifeline of acceptance and listening.

Parent Bobbi Beale, who is a clinical child psychologist and a parent of a transgender child, said her daughter has attended Copley schools for five years and "we have felt welcomed and supported here."

But Beale said her daughter is constantly bullied at school, and it sometimes "flies under the radar."

"As the political environment has shifted, the student body itself seems to have been given permission to be crueler and bully and to get away with it," Beale said. "When they hear that they don't have to respect all students, they act out on that.

"I want you to understand there's harm being done already and work to be done to make it safer."

Student Karmyn Allen was one of the few to call out Chuna directly, calling his comments a "blatant show of transphobia."

Copley parent Tammy Buser said if she wanted religion to dictate her children's education, she would send them to parochial school, but she chose public schools.

"It is critically important that my child and your children's freedom of speech is protected, that their mental health is the top priority, that my students understand multiple points of view from a myriad of staff and students and that no misplaced sense of religious entitlement is able to find it its way into the Copley-Fairlawn curriculum," Buser said.

Copley board member: There's been a 'coordinated effort to intimidate me'

While the majority of the crowd stood to cheer for speakers like Adrian, a portion did applaud the two speakers who had differing views.

A woman who identified herself as a local chapter president for Moms for Liberty, a right-wing "parents rights" group that the Southern Poverty Law Center designated an "anti-government extremist group," spoke briefly to encourage board members to sign a pledge for a "Parents Bill of Rights."

One speaker, Jody Nichols, spoke out of concern for seeing more transgender and pride flags in the school system. She said her heart breaks for those with gender dysphoria, but said "I believe it is a misplaced compassion" to "encourage" students to transition.

"We can genuinely listen and affirm them that they are beautiful and perfect just the way they are," Nichols said. "We can reassure them that they're not alone."

Borchik spoke briefly at the end of the comments, telling the crowd "we did take it all in" and thanking everyone who spoke.

Chuna spoke at the end of the meeting, saying there had been a "coordinated effort to intimidate me" at the March 11 board meeting by those in the audience. He said he was advocating for transparency and encouraged parents to talk to their children about what they are learning, and not just what's in the curriculum. He said the minutes from the work session were accurate but did not include the full context of why he was asking the questions.

"As a deeply ingrained member of this community, I have heard from countless people about what is most important as the school stewards, what is most precious to them, their children," he said. "I am one of five board members. I have no power to do anything on my own. I am simply a voice of the people who do have the power."

'I just wanted to say I'm proud of you'

After the meeting, as dozens of people walked past Adrian in the atrium, several took the time to say congratulations, but also to thank him. One person said they had a transgender child and hoped they could see someone like Adrian — a transgender boy who still wears his hair long and in ponytails because he likes it — stand up for themselves.

"I just wanted to say I'm proud of you," another person said. "Keep up the good work."

Adrian said he wrote the speech during statistics class Tuesday as soon as he heard about Chuna's comments and learned there was a board meeting later that night.

"I was honestly shocked," Adrian said. "That's not what our school itself represents."

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.

If you or someone you know needs mental health support, contact the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Support is also available for the LGBTQ community through The Trevor Project by texting "start" to 678-678 or calling 1-866-488-7386.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Copley pushes back on school board member's 'show of transphobia'