Missouri
Missouri’s GOP attorney general sues school for closed-door debate on transgender bathroom use
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri’s Republican attorney general on Tuesday sued a school district for allegedly secretly discussing transgender students’ bathroom access, in violation of the state’s open-meeting law.
The lawsuit by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is campaigning to keep his seat in 2024, claimed a suburban St. Louis school board went into a closed session to talk about a student’s request to use a different bathroom.
Debate during the closed portion of Wentzville’s June 14 Board of Education meeting veered from legal advice and details on the student request to broader policy discussions, board members Jen Olson and Renee Henke wrote in affidavits provided by Bailey’s office.
Olson and Henke claimed members considered whether there should be exceptions for notifying parents when students request bathroom accommodations, such as in cases of parental abuse.
Missouri’s Sunshine Law requires school board meetings to be open to the public. There are some exceptions, including for legal matters, but any other debate must be public.
“Parents have the right to know who is in the bathroom with their children,” Bailey said in a statement. “Members of the Wentzville School Board knowingly and purposefully denied parents that right when they shrouded the transgender student bathroom usage policy in secrecy, directly violating the Open Meetings Law.”
The Wentzville School District in a statement said it has not yet been served with the lawsuit but takes the issue seriously.
“The Board of Education has adopted policies that demonstrate its commitment to Missouri Sunshine Law compliance and strives to faithfully adhere to those policies and the law,” according to the statement.
Olson and Henke said they were among members who spoke against discussing restroom access in closed session, arguing that the topic should be considered publicly. They said debate continued anyway.
Associated Press emails seeking comment from all seven board members were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Bailey also alleged that members who spoke against the closed-door discussions faced retaliation under a new ethics policy proposed last week.
The policy would require board members to avoid comments that could be interpreted as “undermining” the administration and “disparaging remarks” about other members, the superintendent or staff.
Bailey’s lawsuit comes amid a wave of Republican-led efforts to put restrictions on transgender people’s access to sports, bathrooms and health care.
A new Missouri law, which took effect Aug. 28, outlawed puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgery for minors. There are exceptions for youth who were already taking those medications before the law kicked in, allowing them to continue receiving that health care.
At least 10 states have enacted laws over bathroom use, including North Dakota, Florida and Kansas. Missouri is not one of them, instead leaving policy debate to local districts.
Supporters argue that bathroom laws protect the privacy of cisgender women and girls. They have also pitched the laws as safety measures, without citing evidence of threats or assaults by transgender people against cisgender women or girls.
“The stance that (Wentzville School District) takes is to protect all students,” Henke wrote in a July 27 email to other school administrators. “How does allowing a male into the female restroom protect all students?”
Missouri State will hope to recapture the magic it caught in 2022 when it made a run from the first day of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament before winning it all and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
After an 18-11 loss to Southern Illinois to wrap up the regular season on Saturday, the Bears locked up the eight-seed in the MVC Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Evansville, Indiana.
The Bears will play fifth-seeded Illinois Chicago at 2:30 p.m. for a chance to play regular-season champion and nationally-ranked Indiana State the following day. The double-elimination tournament will see the Bears play at least one game on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It will be Missouri State’s final chance at extending Keith Guttin’s career as he’s set to retire once it ends. The 42-year head coach has led the Bears to 21 regular-season or conference tournament championships since 1983.
More: Missouri State celebrates Keith Guttin and the baseball family he created
When is the 2024 MVC Baseball Tournament?
- Dates: Tuesday, May 21 through Saturday, May 25
- Location: German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana
2024 Missouri Valley Conference final regular-season standings
- Indiana State (39-11, 22-5)
- Murray State (37-18, 17-10)
- Evansville (31-23, 17-10)
- Illinois State (28-25, 16-11)
- Illinois Chicago (33-18, 16-11)
- Southern Illinois (31-25, 12-15)
- Belmont (25-30, 12-15)
- Missouri State (23-32, 11-16)
- Valparaiso (14-38, 6-21)
- Bradley (13-37-1, 6-21)
The top eight teams in the Missouri Valley Conference qualify for its postseason tournament.
2024 MVC Baseball Tournament schedule
All times central
First round: Tuesday, May 21
- Game 1: No. 5 UIC vs. No. 8 Missouri State, 2:30 p.m.
- Game 2: No. 6 Southern Illinois vs. No. 7 Belmont, 6 p.m.
Second round: Wednesday, May 22
- Game 3: No. 3 Evansville vs. No. 4 Illinois State, 9 AM
- Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:30 PM
- Game 5: No. 1 Indiana State vs. TBD, 4 p.m.
- Game 6: No. 2 Murray State vs. TBD, 7:30 p.m.
More: What Keith Guttin means to Missouri State baseball and the many lives he’s touched
Third round: Thursday, May 23
- Game 7: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 9 a.m.
- Game 8: Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, 12:30 p.m.
- Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7, 4 p.m.
- Game 10: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 6, 7:30 p.m.
Semifinals: Friday, May 24
- Game 11: TBD, 11 a.m.
- Game 12: TBD, 2:30 p.m.
- Game 13: TBD, 6 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, May 25
- Game 14: MVC Championship, 2:30 p.m.
- Game 15: MVC Championship (If Necessary), 6 p.m.
More: Keith Guttin: A timeline of the Missouri State baseball coach’s career
2024 MVC Tournament format
This year’s format gives the top four seeds based on regular-season finish a bye into Day 2 of the tournament, while seeds five through eight will play on Tuesday, May 21. The tournament is a double-elimination format.
How to watch MVC Baseball Tournament live:
2024 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament bracket
Close, but no cigar. A bill that was close to passing this legislative session would have raised the legal age to marry in Missouri. The bipartisan effort from Sens. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Scott City, and Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, would have banned marriages for anyone under 18 without exceptions.
Currently, in Missouri, you can get married at age 16 with a parent’s consent.
Rehder lamented the fact that House Republicans took such a hardline stance on the issue.
“When you look at the statistics that show for a girl that gets married as a teenager before she’s an adult, the divorce rate is almost 80%,” she told Missourinet. “Why would we do that? Why would a parent knowing that, why would the legislators in this building not want to ban child marriage?”
House Republicans like Rep. Mitch Boggs, R-LaRussell, were concerned that the bill gives the government an excuse to “intrude” in family marriage.
Arthur expressed embarrassment over this stalling in the House of Representatives.
“My friends who are apolitical or live in different parts of the country send me messages and say, ‘What is happening in Missouri?’ It makes Missouri look bad, but more importantly, we are not doing enough to protect young girls who are forced into marriages and whose lives are worse in every way as a result,” she said.
The legislation would not have affected any marriages that have already taken place.
Rehder explained that the issue will be reintroduced next year due to a national push from women’s groups.
“Women want to, number one, help solve the problems that we have with sex trafficking,” she said. “Women, today, in 2024, realize that we have so much more opportunity, our girls have so much more opportunity. We want them to be able to make lifetime commitment decisions when their brains are fully developed.”
Rehder’s reasoning for wanting the bill’s passage is due to the divorce rate being “incredibly high” among couples who got married when they were children.
“It’s shameful, in my opinion, and I think it represents the very ugliest parts of politics and I am hopeful that this is not the last attempt that they make to do right and raise the age to 18,” Arthur added.
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© 2024, Missourinet.
COLUMBIA, Missouri. (WOWT) – Omaha softball’s historic NCAA tournament run came to an end Sunday after two losses to regional hosts Missouri. The Mavericks entered the first regional final undefeated on the weekend, having defeated Mizzou on Friday and Washington on Saturday.
UNO all-time leader in strikeouts Kamryn Meyer started in the circle for Omaha for her third game in three days. The Mavericks took the lead in the bottom of the sixth after an overthrow to third by Missouri sent Marra Cramer home for the first run of the game.
With their season on the line, the Tigers surged back in the top of the seventh. Shortstop Jenna Laird grounded out but sent the tying run home. Missouri immediately followed up with a two-run home run off the bat of Alex Honnold. Missouri plated two more in the frame and went on to win the game, 5-1, forcing a winner-take-all game two.
Elkhorn native Sydney Nuismer stepped into the circle for Omaha with the program’s first-ever trip to a super regional on the line. The senior tossed eight scoreless innings with the Mavs’ dominant defense backing her up. Finally, in the bottom of the ninth, the game still scoreless, Missouri’s Madison Walker made contact and sent Honnold home from third to walk it off, 1-0.
UNO finished the program’s most successful season of the Division I era with an overall record of 43-15. The Mavs’ two NCAA Tournament wins in Columbia were also a program best.
Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.
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