On March 18, the Dover Area School District Board of Directors in York County voted to adopt two new anti-trans policies that have been the source of significant dispute and concern for many of the residents and students. The measures were passed by a vote of 7-2.
The policies in question are Policy 253, which covers inspections and privacy, and Policy 216.2, which addresses student identification, including names, pronouns, and how staff may address students. It also mandates that the school must inform parents if the students request any changes.
A widely disseminated social media post from Citizens for Central York School District alerting the community to the impending vote the day before the board meeting sparked furor. The post said, in part, “The Dover Area School Board is scheduled to vote on two new policies that define sex ‘based on reproductive biology and genetic make-up’ and authorizes district officials to engage in ‘any…means of investigation’ in order to determine a student’s ‘biological sex.’ As presently worded, these policies could force students to submit to genitalia inspections and blood tests or other forms of genetic testing. The policies specifically refer to ‘bodily searches’ and ‘interviews with students’ in the context of ‘bodily privacy.’”
When board President David Conley opened the meeting for public comment, he addressed the controversy surrounding the new policies directly, mentioning the mass of “aggressive” emails received, and specifically denying that the policies have anything to do with genital inspection of students.
Several other board members defended the policies, saying, “It’s not our intention to discriminate against anyone, only to protect the students,” and calling fears of genital inspection “disgusting.” One questioned the honesty of the poster, revealing that they have edited the phrase that should have read “any appropriate means of investigation.”
Others went on to praise the Independence Law Center (ILC), the extreme right-wing firm that crafted the new policies, against the advice of the district’s own legal counsel.
ILC has made a name for itself crafting discriminatory policies for conservative school districts across Pennsylvania. Its main representative, Jeremy Samek, promotes several anti-LGBTQ+ narratives which have made it into Dover’s new policies, such as the premise that gender is tied to biological sex. He adds that parents have a legal right to any information in a student’s school record and that using a trans student’s correct pronouns perpetrates a falsehood, noting that teachers should not be compelled to lie. And he says that when anti-LGBTQ+ activists are called discriminatory, they should “own it,” as they are discriminating with “a good reason.”
Residents who spoke in favor of the policies tended to follow the fear-mongering narrative usually used in disputes involving trans issues. One woman — responding to the point that there has never been an instance in Dover of a girl being harmed by a trans person — said, “[It] hasn’t happened here, but it could.”
One father extolled, “Protecting our little girls is not a difficult decision.” He didn’t say what they were to be protected from.
Those who spoke against the policies emphasized the discriminatory nature of the policies, or questioned the wisdom of following the ILC’s advice.
“I think a lot of people are letting fear muddy their sinking,” said one mother. “As the mother of a daughter, I’m not afraid for her safety at school. People mustn’t let fear poison their thoughts.”