Period tracking at school: Concerned parent questions gym syllabus
St. Clair Shores dad says school wants ‘invasive’ details about menstrual cycles
A St. Clair Shores parent is raising concerns over his daughter’s gym syllabus, calling it "invasive" as it requests parents disclose the length of menstrual period in order for the student to make up missed swim time.
A Michigan parent is considering legal action against his child’s school after students and parents were asked to share details about students’ menstrual cycles.
Lakeview High School gym syllabus
The backstory:
Parent Andy Amsdill says a gym class syllabus at Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores stated that female students would be allowed to make up swim classes they missed due to their menstrual cycle only if their parents provided details in a note about the length of the period.
What they're saying:
Amsdill says he objects to the request for parents to disclose the length of a period, in addition to female students having to do "dry land workouts" in order to make up for the missed swimming exercise.
"So they’re having to do extra work on top of the invasion of privacy," he said. "For (the school) to want to know that much information, and then have them do more work just because they’re female, is clearly a Title IX issue," Amsdill continued.
Dig deeper:
Amsdill had a conversation with the principal, but said the superintendent didn’t show up to a scheduled meeting about the policy.
Amsdill is asking for the policy to be removed and wants to see accountability for the people who enacted it, which he believes has been in the books for more than a decade.
Additionally, Amsdill says parents don’t know if the school uses the information to try and keep track of past or future periods, which would be a "different problem and a bigger problem," he said.
The other side:
Amsdill argued that if female students are abusing excused swimming, they should be dealt with individually instead of subjecting all students to the same rule.
FILE - Generic image of swimming pool lanes. Getty Images
What's next:
Amsdill said he has spoken with a lawyer and they’re looking at the facts and evaluating what could come next.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from a conversation with Andy Amsdill, whose daughter attends Lakeview High School and received the gym syllabus in question.