Commenters clash at SLO County school board meeting over policies on trans students
Editor’s note: This story mentions suicide.
Contention brewed at a packed Lucia Mar school board meeting last week as dozens of people showed up in either support or against transgender students’ use of the bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identities.
While the comments were largely split — with at least 11 showing up to support trans youth and at least 14 showing up in protest — the conversation reflected a nationwide debate about identity, bathroom use and athletics that has only grown since President Donald Trump took office in January.
Since his inauguration, Trump has signed several executive orders targeting trans athletes and students, and has threatened to rescind funding from school programs that are inclusive of trans identities.
In the aftermath of those executive orders, a group of parents in San Luis Obispo County launched a petition urging local districts to comply with the directives and issue statements by April 15 — the same day the Lucia Mar meeting took place.
While the meeting on April 15 did not include an agenda item related to trans bathroom use, locker room use or participation in athletics, the topic took up nearly an hour of open public comment and board discussion time.
Trans rights take center stage at school board meeting
Ahead of Tuesday night’s open public comment period, school board President Colleen Martin limited each speaker to one minute, rather than the usual three minutes given.
Martin said during the meeting that the decision was made in order to allow all speakers to be heard within the board’s allotted 20 minutes per topic for public comment.
Trustee Mike Fuller, who was recently elected in November and campaigned on a conservative platform, asked that the allotted time be extended to 45 minutes — a request that was met with applause from the audience. But Martin declined.
She said she wanted everyone to be able to speak, including those who may not have submitted public comment cards, and added that the board has a policy that its meetings don’t go past 10 p.m. without unanimous consent from all board members.
“Let’s just see how this flows,” Martin told Fuller.
Even then, the contentious comment period did extend for nearly an hour.
The conversation kicked off with Tyler Hubbell, a science teacher in the district, according to its website, speaking about mental health among teenagers — especially those who identify as LGBTQ+.
Hubbell listed several statistics about the increased rate of suicide and suicidal thoughts among trans youth. He added that he understood where some parents were coming from but urged them to engage in mature dialogue.
“I know that there is a way to talk about this with respect and in a responsible manner,” he said. “But foregoing empathetic and thoughtful conversations and instead engaging in judgment and finger-pointing specifically targeting the most vulnerable population in this community, the ones most at risk for teen suicide, can lead to serious and potentially deadly consequences.”
Followed by Hubbell was a sophomore student and president of the Young Progressives Club at Arroyo Grande High School, who spoke in support of trans students.
“When I found out adults were coming to this meeting to dictate what students can and cannot do for our school, I knew I needed to combat this and support all the students in this school district who are being targeted by the members of our own community,” the student said. “Some adults in our community are claiming that having trans people attending our school and participating in school activities is causing psychological trauma, but I feel just fine knowing trans athletes are currently able to show school spirit and participate in our sports.”
But fellow Arroyo Grande High School student and track athlete Celeste Duyst disagreed, recounting her own experience using the same locker room as a transgender student, who she referred to during her testimony as a “biological male.”
“Recently, I went into the women’s locker room to change for track practice, where I saw at the end of my row a biological male watching not only myself but the other young women undress,” Duyst said. “This experience was beyond traumatizing.”
Duyst alleged the student had changed into her track clothes at the beginning of the day and was in the locker room for “absolutely no reason.” She said the experience was a violation of privacy.
After Duyst’s public comment time ran out, Martin asked the student to wrap up her comments — a common request for speakers at public meetings and something Martin asked of others that night.
“I just want to ask, what about us?” Duyst closed, speaking through tears. “We cannot sit around and allow our rights to be given up to cater to an individual that is a man, who watches women undress and is stripping away female opportunity that once was fought for us.”
Duyst’s testimony was followed by another at least 12 people who spoke against the inclusion of transgender students in the bathrooms, locker rooms and sports that align with their gender identities.
Among these protesters was Gaea Powell, a former candidate for Arroyo Grande mayor and an outspoken critic of the district’s policies on LGBTQ+ students, school curricula and library books.
At least two speakers also quoted passages from The Bible.
Meanwhile, another at least nine people spoke in support of trans students. Many said the comments they heard against trans students that night were disheartening.
Several of those who spoke in support of trans students were educators or students themselves.
Trisha Oksner, a career center technician for the district, according to its website, said she has provided “safe harbor” in her classroom for transgender students who have experienced harassment, bullying and ostracism on campus.
“I support every student on our campus to achieve their goals,” she said. “It’s sad that being able to play sports and live their lives as they are is causing this witch hunt. I don’t know the answer either, but I sincerely hope that it involves empathy.”
After those who signed up gave their comments, Martin read a statement from the board.
“Recent changes to federal policy and guidance have prompted important discussions within our community about issues that impact our schools, like you’ve been talking about tonight,” Martin said. “As a local school board, our responsibility is to implement both federal and state laws, and we cannot create any policies that conflict with these laws. We do not write them.”
Martin then encouraged members of the audience to share their concerns with their elected officials at the state and federal levels.
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misspelled a Lucia Mar student’s name. The correct spelling is Celeste Duyst.
.JPG)