No policy changes are recommended at Albert Lea Area Schools in response to a federal directive released in May relating to transgender student bathroom use.

The recommendation — announced at Monday’s Albert Lea School Board meeting — is in response to the directive to public schools to permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity.

Director of Secondary Programs Kathy Niebuhr cited language from a Minnesota School Board Association briefing to public schools: “The district will maintain the existing policies, which address nondiscrimination on the basis of sex such as the Equal Educational Opportunity Policy, the Harassment and Violence Policy and the Bullying Prohibition Policy, all of which protect all students, including transgender students.”

The state School Board Association advised districts to move forward with the federal directive by making a concerted effort to sit down and talk with individual students who have self-identified as transgender as well as parents to see what they are asking of the school district.

“MSBA has long stood by local control, and we still want school districts to find a solution that works best for them and their transgender students, and provides a safe and welcoming environment for all,” the briefing stated.

Niebuhr said district officials are committed to listening to the concerns of parents and students

to ensure the district meets its top goal of ensuring a safe and nondiscriminatory atmosphere for students.

She said more than 20 people attended six information meetings since she was appointed by Albert Lea Superintendent Mike Funk on May 18 to lead a task force into the issue.

Niebuhr was originally set to lead a task force that would have analyzed the directive and established a policy framework for the district, but the idea eventually evolved into community discussions on what the district needed to talk about and act on in regard to the federal directive.

Niebuhr stressed the district wants to maintain an open dialogue on the issue.

In other action, the board:

Was presented copies of a written complaint by former Albert Lea band teacher Peter Gepson, who alleged illegal and harassing behavior by Funk. The letter alleged Funk had broken a law by sending a letter to Gepson’s employer — Glencoe-Silver-Lake High School — in early 2012 in response to his request for reinstatement as band teacher at Albert Lea. Gepson also alleged that Funk harassed him via email in April.