Utah governor approves censure of school board member who questioned a student's gender

Source: Associated Press

Utah governor approves censure of school board member who questioned a student’s gender

BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Updated 7:45 PM EST, February 15, 2024

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday signed legislation censuring a conservative member of the state Board of Education whose social media post questioning the gender of a high school basketball player triggered threats against the girl and led state officials to call for the board member’s resignation.

Both legislative chambers had swiftly passed a resolution condemning the actions of Natalie Cline a day after the Utah State Board of Education stripped Cline of her committee assignments and nearly all administrative responsibilities. The board will no longer allow Cline to attend meetings or place items on the agenda, and her colleagues have asked her to resign by Feb. 19.

The legislative reprimand carries no real punishment but is a formal way for state leaders to express their disapproval. The measure calling Cline’s actions a “repugnant attack on a student” received unanimous support in the Senate after passing the House earlier Thursday with only two votes against, one from a Democrat and the other from a Republican.

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Cline, who had previously come under investigation for inflammatory comments about LGBTQ+ students, had singled out the Salt Lake City athlete in a Facebook post that falsely insinuated the girl was transgender. After she learned that the girl was not trans, Cline apologized for provoking a firestorm of vulgar comments. Even then, Cline defended her initial suspicions, saying that a national push to normalize transgender identities makes it “normal to pause and wonder if people are what they say they are.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/transgender-athlete-utah-school-board-censure-63e25c6c71d9f18586bd8a036dc29a52