GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. — The Clay County School District could change its policy for students using the restroom.
Students might be required to use the restroom according to their assigned sex at birth, not the gender they identify with.
Before officials move forward with any changes, school officials will hear from the public. The policy would also apply to locker rooms and dressing rooms.
Clay County schools said the amendments are designed to be in line with multiple regulations; state, federal and State Board of Education rules.
Maddie Hilt, a transgender woman from Clay County, believes policy would single out kids who are already at risk.
Hilt said she was born and raised in Clay County. She told First Coast News she attended Middleburg Elementary, then Wilkinson Jr. High and then she graduated from Middleburg High School. Hilt still calls Clay County home.
"I've never had a problem going to the women's restroom because people know I'm just as much of a member of the community as them," Hilt said.
She expressed how she was not surprised after the news of Clay County School officials looking to change its restroom policy. Instead, she's disappointed. Hilt said it hurts to see her school district make decisions like this. Clay County School's proposal would require students to use the restroom based on their assigned sex at birth. It would not matter how the student identifies their gender. The rule would apply to schools and any facility owned by the school board.
Parents would have to request an exception for their child or request permission to use gender-neutral rooms. Hilt said this policy change would impact a small population of the student body; students who a trans. To Hilt, this kind of policy does not benefit trans students at all.
"You're not dealing with a bunch of people rampaging into a bathroom," Hilt said. "We just want to be treated how you're treated, with civility and respect."
A public hearing is scheduled on June 1, at Fleming Island High School. The event starts at 6 p.m.