In response to legal advice and two Executive Orders, Dexter Community Schools (DCS) rescinded a policy for transgender students earlier this year. In response to that, a group of people showed up to the May 19 school board meeting seeking to have the board reinstate the District’s transgender protection policy.
The group that showed up to the meeting was a mix of local community members and some from outside Dexter, some of whom were with the group, the Huron Valley Democratic Socialists of America (HVDSA).
Various people spoke during public comment at the May 19 meeting.
One local person who stood up to speak about the policy was Jay Jones, a 10th grader at Dexter High School.
Here is Jay’s statement:
“My name is Jay Jones and I am a sophomore at Dexter High School. I’ve gone to Dexter my entire life, starting preschool. During my seventh grade year, I underwent struggles with my gender identity, resulting in a change of name and pronouns. Informing my teachers of this change, I asked them to keep my discretion when talking to my parents, which they did. I was lucky to have teachers decent enough to keep my privacy as these policies were not in place during my time in middle school. Trans kids and kids going through the same things I did deserve the discretion and privacy I was lucky to receive. So many trans kids have unsafe home lives. Having information like a new name and new pronouns exposed to unsupportive parents puts both their mental and physical health at risk. They shouldn’t have to rely on luck to keep them safe. Schools are supposed to protect students, no matter how they identify. Learning shouldn’t be inhibited because a school failed to keep their students safe. Having these protections in place save educations, they save lives. These protections need to be restored for the safety and discretion of trans and queer kids. Thank you.”
Another speaker at the May 19 meeting was Seth Rowles, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and HVDSA member. Here is Seth’s statement to the board:
“Hey there, my name is Seth Rowles, and I am a licensed clinical social worker who provides mental health counseling at Peaceful Minds Counseling Services in right down the road (in Dexter, Michigan). I have worked with trans and genderqueer youth for the last 5 years (which is my entire professional career). I imagine we all agree that the role of a school is to be a safe place for students to learn. In my work with students, it has become clear to me that belonging is not only important, but essential for a felt sense of safety. For trans/genderqueer students especially, we as caring adults have to be incredibly explicit in our actions to signal to them that we are a place they can safely be their authentic selves. Without this, they will assume they are not safe, because they likely have experienced that from the majority of adults (whether at home, in their community, or in the media). Without this, not only will they not feel safe enough to learn, they will feel this lack of belonging which absolutely contributes to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts for trans and genderqueer youth. I am asking the Dexter school board to reinstate policy 5106, to move towards the essential effort of creating a school space that is a place of belonging and community for all.”
Another statement came from another local resident, Marie Knoerl.
Here it is:
“Hello. My name is Marie Knoerl. I use she/her pronouns.
I’ve been a resident of Dexter for over 25 years and both of my children spent the majority of their K-12 years in — and graduated from — Dexter Community Schools.
I have almost always been proud of our school district for its excellent, dedicated teachers and proactive tack to strengthening the education of Dexter’s children. One such instance was the adoption of the IB program while my youngest (now a 27 year old) was in Dexter High School. Another was the adoption of Policy 5106 Transgender Students.
My 27 year old is trans. MOSTLY the Dexter Schools were GREAT for them. They participated in Quiz Bowl in 3 – 6th grades. In High School they were in the IB program & really found a home in Debate, Choir and Drama, which at the time included 10% of the student population. You’ll see that 7 & 8th grades are missing. They really struggled with social acceptance & bullying in 6th grade to the point that we transferred them to Emerson School for the rest of middle school. (At the time, “trans” or the idea of “transitioning” wasn’t in any of our vocabularies.)
In recent years my kid mentioned that they were so depressed at the time, that they might have considered killing themselves. I was horrified to think that I hadn’t seen that & that I had come so close to the worst nightmare imaginable for a parent.
We had the opportunity to make that choice, but others don’t and shouldn’t have to. The Dexter School Board took powerful action by implementing POLICY 5106 to insure that kids like mine feel safe & are valued members of the school community.
As the Board indicated in the opening paragraph of 5106; The Board recognizes that transgender students, nationally and in Michigan, are targeted with physical violence and experience a hostile school environment more frequently than their peers. Supportive environments that acknowledge and affirm a student’s gender identity is a protective factor that improves health and educational outcomes.
I am here to ask that you reestablish your support for “protecting the rights of ALL students” and reinstate POLICY 5106 TRANSGENDER STUDENTS. In addition to honoring that testament of support, you will bring yourself in line with your legal responsibilities, under the expansion of the ELCRA (Public Act 6 of 2023). State civil-rights law REMAINS THE LAW, in spite of federal actions.
In case you’re wondering, my kid learned to understand & accept themselves for who they are and took action to claim their gender identity as a young adult. They are now a happy, motivated, inspiring teacher (of both high schoolers and their parents).
Thank you.”
The policy was not on the board meeting’s agenda that night nor did the school board discuss it at the May 19 meeting. The policy was repealed in March.
The first two paragraphs of the rescinded policy said:
“5106 Transgender Students
The Board recognizes that transgender students, nationally and in Michigan, are targeted with physical violence and experience a hostile school environment more frequently than their peers. Supportive environments that acknowledge and affirm a student’s gender identity is a protective factor that improves health and educational outcomes.
The Board supports protecting the rights of all students to self-identify and use the name, pronouns, and facilities that correspond with their gender identity. The Board prohibits unlawful discrimination, bullying, and harassment on the basis of sex, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity. The Board further prohibits unlawful discrimination, bullying, and harassment on the basis of gender, gender identity, gender expression, or gender-based stereotypes pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.”
The Sun Times News followed up with DCS school board president Elise Bruderly about this.
Bruderly said this policy was rescinded “at the advice of the Board’s legal counsel at the March 17, 2025 Board meeting pursuant to Executive Order 14168 (1/20/2025) and Executive Order 14190 (1/29/2025).”
“This policy was rescinded at the advice of our legal counsel, not due to the content of the policy,” Bruderly said. “The Board of Education takes great pride in the history of inclusion of all students in our school community and we are committed to assuring that that supportive environment remains unchanged.”
Executive Order 14168 is titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
Executive Order 14190 is titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling”
Both orders were signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
