Madison Reporter

The Sun Prairie Area School District (SPASD) legal team wants $11,000 from a nonprofit group before it will release any documents on a recent transgender incident in which an 18-year-old biological male who identifies as female allegedly showered with and exposed his genitalia to female students, the attorney for a nonprofit said.

The school district has received many comments, questions and criticisms from parents, community members and advocates since the incident. One of them was a request from the nonprofit Wisconsin Institute For Law and Liberty (WILL) for information and records. WILL wants answers as to how and why the district allegedly violated Title IX in failing to report the incident to their Title IX coordinator, whose role includes investigating such incidents and providing support to victims.

WILL attorney Dan Lennington noted that SPASD has now responded to those requests for information—with a bill.

"Records Request: 'What is your policy on allowing biological males in the girls locker room?'" Lennington tweeted this week. "School District: 'Pay us $11,000 first.' Battle continues to learn more about why a naked man was in a @sunprairiek12 shower with freshman girls @WILawLiberty."

While it is common for public organizations to charge location fees for pulling, reviewing and forwarding requested documents, the district has determined the appropriate amount to be more than $11,000; Wisconsin Right Now tweeted this week. The charges consist of estimated hours spent collecting, reviewing and sending out the various requested documents; which include emails, texts and other records; at the hourly rate of the corresponding department. WILL’s request for messages among staff was met with a charge of $5,000 before any efforts were made toward fulfilling it.

The locker rooms incident was detailed in a letter sent to the school district by WILL on April 19.

“On Friday, March 3, 2023, four freshman girls at EHS [East High School] participated in a swim unit as part of their first-hour physical-education class," the letter said. "After the class, the girls entered the girls’ athletic locker room to shower and change for class. Upon entering, they noticed a senior male student in the area containing lockers and benches. It is our understanding this male was 18 years old at the time of the incident. According to the girls, this student was not in the first-hour PE class they were participating in."

The girls were surprised to see the male in the locker room but "had a general idea that this student identifies as transgender and has used girls’ bathrooms before," the letter said. "While they were uncomfortable, they proceeded to the shower area without interacting with the student."

The letter continued, "The girls entered the shower area with their swimsuits on, which was their common practice as they rinsed off. As they began to shower, the male student approached them, entered the shower area, announced 'I’m trans, by the way,' and then undressed fully and showered completely naked right next to one of the girls. He was initially turned towards the wall but "eventually turned and fully exposed his male genitalia to the four girls. Understandably, the girls were caught off guard and shocked, closed their eyes, and tried to hurry up and leave the showers as quickly as possible."