BUFFALO, N.Y. -- ;Bryan Ball of Stonewall Democrats of WNY said it will save lives.
"Children deserve our protection and reinforcement from teachers, schools, government and from us,” said Ball.
Compass House’s Sierra Johnston explained it will encourage acceptance.
"A school should be a place where adolescents are encouraged to feel comfortable in their own skin,” Johnston said.
One by one, more than a dozen people spoke passionately Wednesday evening about why they feel Buffalo Schools needs to adopt a gender identity policy.
Both the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization and the Pride Center of Western New York support the draft policy, which allows protections for transgender students when it comes to athletics, use of bathrooms and locker rooms, as well as pronouns and names that align with their identity.
"No, this does not mean students will be able to change their bathroom preference daily,” said Siobhan Fitzgerald Matson of the Pride Center of WNY. “They're required to make a planning document with their school about which bathroom will feel best."
Several other districts in Western New York, like Lancaster, Hamburg, and Clarence, have all adopted similar items.
The board tabled the policy and referred it to the Executive Affairs Committee. Members, and some opponents, tell us the district needs more time to consider the privacy and safety of all students.
"Much better solution to build gender-neutral bathrooms for a handful of transgender kids and protect them and protect the majority," said board member Paulette Woods.
Board member Carl Paladino also cited the recent nationwide injunction, prohibiting the Obama administration from enforcing its bathroom directives in public schools, as another reason why BPS should hold off on this policy.
"We have the rights of 32,000 kids, we have the rights of the few for which there's a problem. If we can't find some other way of addressing it, I don't think it should be addressed,” Paladino said.