Students & Parents Demand Privacy: A Closer Look at the Temecula Locker Room Controversy

There’s a basic expectation many parents share: that schools safeguard their children’s physical privacy and safety. When that expectation is under threat, parents and students have every right to demand change. That moment arrived at James L. Day Middle School in Temecula.

What Happened

At the start of the school year, a male student, who identifies as female, began using the girls’ locker room during P.E.—a change underpinned by the school district’s adoption of Board Policy 5145.31, which allows students to access bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

In response, dozens of students—mostly middle school girls, but joined by supportive classmates—staged a walkout protest outside James L. Day Middle School. Parents were present, and students carried signs demanding privacy and safety in their locker rooms. Their message was clear: girls should not have to sacrifice dignity or comfort in order to participate in school activities. For many families, the protest was both a stand for student rights and a wake-up call to the community that these policies are not abstract—they affect children directly,…here and now.

Rather than restoring privacy by separating facility usage by biological sex, Temecula Valley Unified School District School Board offered female students two paths to avoid sharing changing space: obtaining a religious accommodation or a mental-health accommodation—the latter implying that discomfort or modesty might be a sign of distress or needing treatment.

Why Parents & Students Say This is Inadequate

1. Privacy & Modesty: Many girls report feeling violated—not because of malice or conflict, but because they simply don’t want to undress next to someone of the opposite biological sex. That’s not an issue of hatred; it’s an issue of normal modesty and safety. Parents believe modesty does not require a medical diagnosis or religious justification.

   
   

2. Pathologizing Basic Needs: Experts warn that requiring a mental health accommodation for wanting privacy converts something normal into something medical. This disclosure could become a lingering record that follows a student, with consequences for privacy, future employment, or security clearance issues.

   
   

What Alternatives Are Being Proposed

• Restore Single-Sex Default: Make it clear in school district policy that locker rooms and bathrooms are segregated by biological sex as the norm, not the exception. Anyone with a particular concern or request could be offered a private alternative—but without forcing girls to check religious or medical‐mental health boxes.

  
  

• Privacy Options Without Stigma: For example, provide private changing stalls, or alternative times/locations for students who feel unsafe or uncomfortable. But these should be voluntary and respectful, not paths that single out or stigmatize students.

  
  

• Transparency & Parental Involvement: Parents should have notice, ability to opt in or out, and be involved in any accommodation process. The school board should respect parental rights in determining what is appropriate for their own children.

The Stakes: Why This Matters

This is not simply a local matter—it’s about what kind of education environment we expect for our children. An environment that respects bodily autonomy and modesty, ensures safety and dignity, and upholds the role of parents in protecting their children.

When policy forces parents to accept that only by claiming a medical diagnosis or religious belief can their daughter have privacy, it erodes trust, creates stigma, and undermines parental rights.

Temecula parents and students are asking school leaders to correct course: rescind or revise Board Policy 5145.31 so that single‐sex privacy is restored by default and no student is forced into accommodation tracks that label them or infringe upon their dignity.

By standing together—parents, students, and concerned citizens—we can ensure that schools are places where safety, privacy, modesty, and parental rights are respected for every child.