Parents warned of YMCA camps’ transgender-inclusive policies for cabins, restrooms

“What’s more, parents aren’t always able to make informed decisions related to safety and privacy for their children because many YMCA branches limit or withhold gender-related disclosures,” Marré said.

Marré told The Center Square that the YMCA “has a pattern of quietly scrubbing evidence when exposed.”

“Last year they removed national guidance related to access to cabins and bathrooms based on gender identity after our Lookout,” Marré said.

“More recently, Camp Olson deleted its gender-expansive FAQ page after media inquiries this summer,” Marré said. 

When contacted twice for comment, YMCA media relations did not respond.

“American Parents Coalition filed a Title IX complaint in June 2025 with the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development, followed by a July letter to Congress urging investigation of the YMCA’s use of hundreds of millions in federal grants,” Marré said. 

“Parents have a right to programs that respect biological reality and parental authority,” Marré said.

Marré recommended that “parents should ensure they are informed of their local YMCA branches' policies including both the YMCA facility and camp gender policies.”

“If the YMCA is pushing an ideological agenda, parents should contact local and federal elected officials,” Marré said. “Lawmakers must be aware of what policies are being implemented and how they impact families.”

Additionally, Marré recommended writing “a letter or email to local officials or the YMCA chapter encouraging them to prioritize health and safety over political activism.”

American Parents Coalition said in its Lookout alert – which is a “parental notification system” – that parents “should take a close look at their local YMCA’s gender policies” before sending their children “off for YMCA summer camps and programs this summer.”

“Despite recent pushback on guidelines and mounting scientific evidence, the YMCA continues prioritizing transgender ideology over the safety of kids by allowing boys and men in girls’ and women’s spaces,” the Lookout said.

The Lookout said that “Y-USA, the national governing body for local YMCAs, has strategically embedded gender ideology into its national infrastructure while simultaneously publicly stating that ‘Y-USA does not have a nationwide policy around locker room and bathroom facilities.’”

Furthermore, Y-USA’s diversity, equity and inclusion statement says the following: “We work to ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race or sexual orientation, has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity.”

The Lookout highlighted the transgender-inclusive policies of many individual YMCA camps.

For instance, in Michigan, Sherman Lake YMCA camp’s policy for cabin placement states that “campers are assigned to cabins based on their identified gender.”

Sherman Lake is not alone, with camps in Colorado, Wisconsin and California in having similar policies.

Further, a Minnesota YMCA camp provides “a cabin for those who identify outside the gender binary” and has a policy that states, “trans individuals may select either restroom.”