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Official Suspended After Incident Involving Transgender Student At West Virginia School
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The Latest on a West Virginia high school assistant principal accused of harassing a transgender student in a school bathroom (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
A West Virginia assistant principal has been suspended after a complaint that he harassed a transgender male student inside a high school bathroom.
News outlets report Lee Livengood was suspended with pay after a meeting with Harrison County school administrators Tuesday. The suspension runs through the end of the semester on Friday, when the holiday break begins.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s West Virginia chapter called the four-day suspension “not sufficient.” In a statement, the ACLU says the county school district “needs to make significant changes to its culture.”
The ACLU had complained to county schools Superintendent Mark Manchin about Livengood. Student Michael Critchfield says Livengood harassed him for using a boys’ bathroom Nov. 27 and told him, “you freak me out.”
7:50 a.m.
The American Civil Liberties Union says a West Virginia assistant principal should be disciplined after harassing a transgender male student inside a high school bathroom and telling him “you freak me out.”
The ACLU’s West Virginia chapter says it has asked the Harrison County schools superintendent to discipline Assistant Principal Lee Livengood at Liberty High School in Clarksburg.
An ACLU statement says the chapter also wants best-practice policies and training in the school system for dealing with transgender students and issues.
Student Michael Critchfield says he was harassed in a boys’ bathroom Nov. 27 and that Livengood challenged him to use a urinal to prove he was a boy.
Critchfield says the incident was traumatizing.
County schools Superintendent Mark Manchin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.