Conservative activist strips at a school board meeting

A 55-year-old woman who stripped down to her bikini at a school board meeting last month in protest of the district’s policy on bathroom access by transgender students will not face criminal charges, according to authorities.

- BY NATHAN SOLIS

BETH BOURNE will not face criminal charges for undressing at a school board meeting last month.

(Davis Joint Unified School District)

The regular meeting of the Davis Joint Unified School District's Board of Education was thrown off the rails on Sept. 18 when Beth Bourne took off her clothes during the public comment portion of the meeting. Bourne, an anti LGBTQ+ activist based in Yolo County, said she disagrees with the district’s policies that allow transgender students to choose the bathrooms and locker rooms that they use.

Bourne, a member of the nonprofit group Moms for Liberty, held up a gym uniform during her public comment, claiming that middle school students are uncomfortable changing in front of their transgender peers. Bourne is also the mother of a college-age daughter who identifies as nonbinary.

The district’s policy allows transgender students to select a bathroom or locker room aligning with the gender they identify with. Bourne then lifted off her shirt, revealing a sports bra.

“Right now we require our students to undress for PE class, and I’m just going to give you an idea of what that looks like while I undress,” Bourne said while she stood behind the lectern and removed her shirt. The board members nervously looked at each other as Bourne continued to use her allotted three minutes for her public comment.