Horrified Parents Speak Out After School Installs Viewing Windows In Trans-Inclusive Restrooms

Pennsylvania’s South Western School District just baffled parents and students alike after they installed windows that allow passers-by to look into restrooms specifically designated for transgender youth.

In 2023, the school board tried to appease both trans students and anti-trans activists with its bathroom policy. The board’s solution was to establish five different bathrooms – two for students based on assigned gender at birth, two based on gender identity, and one gender-neutral restroom.

This year, a new set of far-right candidates were voted onto the school board. In August, these officials opted to place windows in the bathrooms based on gender identity, saying that they would add “privacy in the toilet facility” and “increase oversight of the wash area.” The windows cost over $8,700 to purchase and install.

“We are adding privacy in the toilet facility,” board President Matthew Gelazela at an August 14 board meeting. Students said the new windows enable passers-by to hear bowel movements and other restroom activities.

These changes were brought about in part by the Harrisburg-based Independence Law Center, a right-wing Christian organization that also helped instate the district’s anti-trans sports andpronounspolicies.

Students and parents alike expressed shock at these changes. Students who use the gender-identity bathrooms no longer use them due to these windows.

“I found it really strange,” said Jennifer Holahan, who had her child take images of the windows that she then posted to social media, which went viral online.

Additional changes are reportedly also being made, including removing the front wall of the restrooms and installing taller stalls.

Board member Matthew SmithtoldThe York Dispatchthat new board adopted these changes to avoid getting sued.

“I feel like the whole thing is just a deterrent to keep kids who might want to use those restrooms from using them,” Holahan said, describing how her son uses the gender identity bathrooms because they’re closest to his classes. She said her child’s school officials were reasonable when talking to her, but said that their hands are tied by the school board’s policies.

“The one thing I do know is that bullying kids or deterring a child from being comfortable with who they are, I do know that’s wrong,” Holahan said. “These are actions of a school board that have their own agenda, politically fueled and using our children as pawns. That’s not caring for them.”

The York Dispatcheditorial boardslammed the school district, writing, “This is happening at a time when this and other York County school boards are pushing policies that would restrict what books students read, what sports teams they compete on and even which pronouns they use.”

“All of this is part of an attempt to erase LGBTQ+people,” the board continued. “Cutting a window into these bathrooms is an intimidation tactic designed to make sure students who use the so-called ‘gender-identity’ facilities — and, let’s be honest, any student who doesn’t fit neatly into the worldview of the school board’s far-right majority — know they’re being watched, controlled and judged.”

“In their quest to punish LGBTQ+ kids, however, the misguided ‘adults’ on this South Western School Board are doing the things they accuse others of doing,” the editorial concluded. “This is an invasion of privacy and a waste of taxpayer dollars. It needs to stop.”

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