Safe Schools
"Supporting a transgender kid is not as complicated as it might seem"
–Asaf Orr, an attorney and co-author of the ‘Schools in Transition’ guide
Schools have ResponsibilitiesYour public school has an obligation to protect you from bullying and harassment and to allow you to use facilities consistent with your gender identity.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in education at federally funded schools on the basis of sex. The Title IX resource guide states that the law "protects students, employees, applicants for admission and employment, and other persons from all forms of sex discrimination, including discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity." Learn more about Title IX from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Even with laws in place, some schools are slow to adapt. Students or parents might need to talk with the guidance counselor or principal to make sure they are doing their job. It helps to know the law is on your side. |
Transgender students have rightsSchools have an obligation to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for every student. This article from EdSource highlights this responsibility and offers advice for educators to support their transgender students.
creating Safe and Supportive SchoolsThe American Psychological Association Safe and Supportive Schools Project has a lot of information and resources on the best ways for schools to support LGBT youth, including record-keeping, anti-bullying efforts, supportive school policies, and more.
GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW
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Model School and policies
The schools listed below are excellent models of safe and supportive institutions. While no school is perfect, these schools show what is possible, and might serve as an example for other schools that are committed to providing a safe environment for all their students.
MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIOn |
RHODE ISLAND INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE |
WASHOE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, NV |
BATHROOMS
It might seem strange that something as simple as the right to use a public bathroom that aligns with your gender is controversial, but the issue has prompted bills and policies to regulate bathroom use. These bills seek to force people to use the bathroom that matches their sex assigned at birth, so a transgender woman could be required to use a men's bathroom in public. This creates a potentially uncomfortable, humiliating, or unsafe situation for transgender people. Being questioned at the bathroom door is invalidating. Opponents of the bills view this as discriminatory and demand that everybody should be free to choose the bathroom that matches their gender as a basic civil right.
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UNDERSTANDING THE BATHROOM CONTROVERSY |
WHERE ARE THE BILLS COMING FROM? |
More than 100 bills have been introduced in 21 states in order to regulate bathrooms and effectively discriminate against transgender individuals. Most of these bills have been written by anti-LGBT organizations that were previously involved in promoting anti-gay marriage legislation and constitutional amendments. Some legislators claim that the bills are a pushback against progressive gender-neutral and gender-inclusive laws and policies, and the federal government's confirmation that discrimination at the bathroom door violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. However, in reality, these are the same anti-LGBT groups that failed at denying marriage equality, and they have now turned their attention to bathrooms to try to scare their followers with false information and raise money. Some of these groups are considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Many groups, such as the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Transgender Law Center, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Eduction Fund have taken up key cases against these discriminatory and harmful laws and bills. This issue is part of a bigger battle for equal rights for all our citizens, although it unfortunately targets young transgender individuals for discrimination. You are not alone in this. Many, many people are fighting against the hate and bigotry that is behind these bills. Few of the bills have become state law, and more and more courts are agreeing that these laws, when enacted, are discriminatory. Over time, as more people understand what being transgender and gender nonconformity are, and get to know more transgender individuals, there will likely be less hysteria around bathroom use and everone will be able to use them in peace as they have been doing for many years. |