A Republican congressman is pushing the Trump administration to investigate a North Carolina high school after female students complained that a biological male has been using the women’s locker room, according to a letter first obtained by The Daily Wire.
Rep. Addison McDowell wrote a letter on Thursday calling on the Education Department to investigate Cox Mill High School in Cabarrus County for reportedly allowing a boy to access intimate female spaces. He urged Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey to review a parental complaint filed on April 17 claiming the school violated a female student’s Title IX privacy rights.
“I was profoundly concerned to learn of reports that the school is allowing biologically male students to enter women’s restrooms and locker room facilities on school property,” McDowell wrote. “As a father of three girls and one on the way, and the Representative for the Sixth Congressional District of North Carolina, I remain committed to working to protect women and girls and preserving their civil rights for generations to come.”
The Trump administration has interpreted Title IX as protecting the right of girls to access private, single-sex spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
In recent months, students and parents have asked the Cabarrus County School Board to adopt policies ensuring female-only spaces at the high school. School officials have downplayed concerns from parents, saying some claims about incidents involving the transgender student are false.
The district previously said it was constrained by a law that mandates “schools may not discriminate against students by denying them access to the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity.”
McDowell said the district must step up to ensure students’ privacy.
“It is the bare minimum for schools to ensure a safe learning environment, and schools owe students’ parents a guarantee that the school is taking every available measure to protect the health and safety of kids,” he said. “The policy that the school district has adopted is in direct opposition to these principles.”
On Tuesday, the organization NC Values released a video featuring Trista Ruck, a junior at Cox Mill High School, who said she had seen a male in the girls’ bathroom.
“I encountered a male in the female restroom. I walked straight to the restroom, did my business, and then whenever I went to go wash my hands, he walked in,” she said. “He then just looked at me, and then went about his business, but honestly, I felt uncomfortable. Why would I want someone who has different parts than me in the same bathroom as me?”
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