Trista Ruck, a junior at Cox Mill High School in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, told the school board during public comment that administrators have refused to address student and parent concerns about a male student who identifies as a woman using girls' restrooms and locker rooms. The student participates on the football and basketball cheer team. Ruck said she and her peers feel unsafe and uncomfortable in facilities designed for female students.
"Many of my peers and I feel uncomfortable using facilities designed for women and women alone, as he has different reproductive parts than we do," Ruck told the Cabarrus County School Board during its December 2025 meeting.
Ruck said parents and students raised the issue with Cox Mill administration and the athletic director multiple times but were "blatantly ignored." She said the school's only response was to offer special accommodations for female students rather than address the underlying policy. According to Ruck, when a friend who participates on one of the school's sports teams reported that she noticed the male student watching her and other girls while they changed in the locker room, she was told to report it to the principal.
Ruck said the principal's response was that the issue was "too political to address." The principal told students experiencing discomfort to find alternative facilities. "Our school is supposed to make every student safe, but we get ostracized when we discuss this with adults who are supposed to ensure the safety and comfortability at school," Ruck said.
What the Left Is Saying
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and their allies argue that transgender students deserve access to facilities consistent with their gender identity. They contend that excluding trans students from restrooms and locker rooms matching their identity constitutes discrimination and can cause significant mental health harm, including increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among LGBTQ+ youth.
The Human Rights Campaign and similar organizations have long maintained that schools should adopt policies allowing transgender students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity. These groups argue that such policies are required under Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students, citing the 2020 Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that discrimination based on gender identity constitutes sex discrimination under federal civil rights law.
Transgender rights advocates contend that concerns about safety in inclusive facilities are not supported by evidence. They note that multiple studies have found no increase in safety incidents in schools with inclusive bathroom policies and argue that singling out trans students for separate facilities is both unnecessary and harmful to those students' wellbeing.
"Transgender students deserve protection, but policy has to protect all students," said Alexis Hughes, founder of You Heard Her, an advocacy group active in Cabarrus County. "And right now, the absence of policy is failing every single student in our district." Hughes told the board that while she does not judge any child, schools have a responsibility to ensure student safety and privacy.
What the Right Is Saying
Privacy advocates and opponents of inclusive bathroom policies argue that students have a right to sex-segregated facilities based on biological sex. They contend that allowing males into female locker rooms and restrooms violates the privacy and safety of female students, particularly in vulnerable situations like changing for sports or using restroom stalls.
"This is not about hate or judging any child," said Alexis Hughes during her April 13, 2026 remarks to the board. "What you are responsible for is ensuring students are safe, that their privacy is protected, and that policies are clear and consistently applied." Hughes criticized the board for failing to act after hearing from Ruck.
Critics of inclusive policies argue that schools should prioritize protecting female students' privacy over accommodating transgender students. They contend that administrators who allow biological males in female facilities are prioritizing ideology over student safety and that parents and students have a right to expect sex-segregated spaces will be maintained.
"She came to you all for help. You heard her. You did nothing," Hughes told the board, referring to Ruck's December 2025 testimony. "There is nothing political about a child that feels unsafe when they are changing clothes. That is a basic expectation of privacy."
What the Numbers Show
Cabarrus County voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election by a margin consistent with North Carolina's statewide results, according to election data cited in public records.
Medical research has documented health consequences associated with avoiding bathroom use. Columbia University Irving Medical Center notes that repeatedly holding urine can cause chronic pain, urinary tract infections, difficulty fully emptying the bladder, and pelvic floor dysfunction. Ruck told the board she avoids restrooms "at all costs" but uses them when necessary.
Multiple states have passed legislation either requiring or prohibiting transgender bathroom access in schools. As of 2026, state policies on this issue vary widely across the country, with several states leaving decisions to individual school districts. The Cabarrus County School Board has not instituted a countywide policy addressing bathroom and locker room use for transgender students.
The proportion of U.S. teenagers identifying as transgender or nonbinary has increased in recent surveys conducted by health researchers at institutions including UCLA's Williams Institute, though the total remains a small percentage of the overall adolescent population.
The Bottom Line
The Cabarrus County School Board faces pressure from parents and students demanding clearer policies on bathroom and locker room use. Ruck and her supporters are calling for protections ensuring female-only spaces, while transgender rights advocates argue such measures would discriminate against vulnerable students.
The board has not responded to requests for comment on whether it plans to develop a formal policy addressing the issue raised by students and parents. No countywide directive has been issued despite months of public testimony. The situation at Cox Mill High School remains unresolved as families await action from school administrators.
What happens next: Families say they will continue raising concerns at board meetings until administrators address their complaints. State education officials have not indicated whether they intend to issue guidance on the matter, leaving local districts to navigate the issue without statewide standards.