Controversy Persists over Male Teacher Dressing as Female

Excerpted from Batavia Gender Controversy Persists, by Marketta Gregory, published Sept 15, 2006, in Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

…”It seems like the administration is sweeping this under the rug and saying that any opposition is losing steam,” said Donald Shirk, the parent of a sophomore and senior pastor at Grace Baptist Church. “I strongly disagree.”

The district first heard about the teacher’s plans around Christmas; Shirk heard about it a little more than a week before school started. Since then, he and his assistant pastor, Mark Hurlbut, have been scouring medical journals, researching court cases and writing editorials saying that students shouldn’t be made to assist in the teacher’s treatment.

“This hit our community like a tsunami,” Shirk said. “Now we’re caught up in the surf.”

Other pastors have contacted Shirk, and they are hoping to start a petition to show that not everyone approves of the actions that have been taken by the school district. Also, a national group that offers free legal counsel to advance religious freedom has written to Stutzman, saying that students’ religious rights are being violated.

Attorneys working for the district wrote back to the Florida-based Liberty Counsel and explained the school’s position.

Meanwhile, the district has heard from several parents who support the teacher and what the district is doing. And even some of the people who don’t agree with sex reassignment surgery understand that the district is doing what it must do, Stutzman said, adding that gender identity disorder is considered a disability and protected under New York law.

“There are no other options in New York state.”

Continue reading at Democrat & Chronicle…