Utah school district takes steps to protect teen after school board member appears to question girl’s gender on social media

By Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — A teenage girl in Utah faced threats after a state school board member appeared to raise questions about her gender on social media, eliciting a condemnation from the state’s top government officials.

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Natalie Cline, a member of the Utah State Board of Education since 2020, posted a photo of the high school basketball player on Tuesday and falsely implied the student is transgender, writing: “Girls’ basketball…”

Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson condemned Cline for her social media posts in a joint statement Wednesday. They urged the state’s board of education to hold her accountable. They also praised the Granite School District “for taking swift action to protect this student’s safety and well-being.”

“We were stunned to learn of the unconscionable behavior of board member Cline and others toward a high school student today,” the statement reads. “The last thing our children need is an elected official harassing them on social media.”

Following the joint statement, the Utah State Board of Education said in a news release Thursday it can vote on actions to reprimand or censure a member, but it does not have the power or authority to unseat them.

The board’s leadership is “very concerned” about Cline’s post and “the harm it has caused to students and families in Utah. We are deeply saddened by the events that may have taken place and will be taking prompt action regarding this matter as determined by the full Board.”

The parents of the high school girl are urging Cline to resign from the school board, telling CNN affiliate KSL that their daughter is a tomboy who has short hair, wears baggy clothing and has muscles from going to the gym.

“To look at someone’s outer appearance and make an assumption that they’re either playing in the right arena or not, based on how someone looks I don’t think is appropriate,” the girl’s mother told KSL. “It just broke our hearts that we needed to have this conversation with our daughter.”

The girl’s father said the “worst case scenario” from the cyberbullying targeted at his daughter due to Cline’s post could have led her to take her own life.

“What if our daughter didn’t have that strong character and have our support, and community support to where she internalized this?” he said.

Granite School District said in a statement to KSL it has “significant concerns with the apparent intent” of Cline’s post and it’s “working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of this student.”

On Wednesday, Cline pointed to her free speech rights while issuing a public apology in a Facebook post, that reads, in part: “My deepest apologies for the negative attention my post drew to innocent students and their families.”

In the post, which has the header “Constitutionally Protected Speech,” Cline says she removed her original post to protect the player after multiple parents raised concerns, and she asserted she “never claimed the student was a boy.”

“She does have a larger build, like her parents,” Cline said of the high school girl. “We live in strange times when it is normal to pause and wonder if people are what they say they are because of the push to normalize transgenderism in our society.”

Cline’s statements come on the heels of a record-breaking year for anti-LGBTQ legislation and the enactments of new laws targeting transgender people, including bans on hormone treatment and surgical procedures for minors seeking gender-affirming care and transgender people using public bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

In 2022, the Utah legislature banned transgender girls from competing in high school sports. The bill was vetoed by Cox, who said it targeted a marginalized group with a high suicide rate, but in March of that year GOP lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto. That prompted a lawsuit filed by the parents of three teenage transgender girls that asked a court to declare the ban unconstitutional and block its enforcement.

In August 2022, a Utah judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing transgender girls to compete on girls’ teams “only when it is fair, as confidentially determined by a legislature-created commission,” reads the decision by Judge Keith A. Kelly, from the Third Judicial District Court for Salt Lake County.

School board reprimanded Cline in 2021

In their joint statement, Cox and Henderson noted the incident was “not the first time that board member Cline has embarrassed the state of Utah and the State Board of Education.”

Cline was issued a letter of reprimand by the board in August 2021 after she posted a photo of a pride flag hanging at a church facility adjacent to Layton High School with the comment, “the world is too much with us,” according to CNN affiliate KSTU.

The letter, obtained by KTSU, reads in part: “Since being sworn in as a Board member approximately eight months ago, you have engendered controversy, frustration, and anger toward the Board, certain schools, certain educators, and certain student populations with statements you have posted on your social media regarding our LGBTQIA+ community.”

In July 2023, the board concluded an investigation into complaints regarding Cline’s statements on social media, clearing her of wrongdoing, according to a news release.

Cline then responded on social media, saying the board’s leadership informed her in an email after the findings were released that they still “determined there to be merit to the concerns.”

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