The U.S. Department of Education issued guidelines May 20 on treatment of transgender students, citing examples from policies in effect in some districts. Here are some excerpts:
Definitions: " 'Gender identity' refers to a person's deeply felt internal sense of being male or female, regardless of their sex assigned at birth."
Confirming a student's gender identity: "Schools generally rely on students' (or in the case of younger students, their parents' or guardians') expression of their gender identity. Although schools sometimes request some form of confirmation, they generally accept the student's asserted gender identity."
Use of sex-segregated facilities: "The Washington State Guidelines provide: 'School districts should allow students to use the restroom that is consistent with their gender identity consistently asserted at school.' In addition, no student 'should be required to use an alternative restroom because they are transgender or gender nonconforming.' "
How to address transgender students: "There are a number of ways schools protect transgender students' interests in keeping their transgender status private, including taking steps to prepare staff to consistently use the appropriate name and pronouns. Using transgender students' birth names or pronouns that do not match their gender identity risks disclosing a student's transgender status."
Physical education and athletic activities: "Some school policies explain the procedures for establishing transgender students' eligibility to participate in athletics consistent with their gender identity … The NYSED (New York State Education Department) Guidance explains that "physical education is a required part of the curriculum and an important part of many students' lives. Most physical education classes in New York's schools are coed, so the gender identity of students should not be an issue with respect to these classes. Where there are sex-segregated classes, students should be allowed to participate in a manner consistent with their gender identity."
Overnight trips: "Schools often separate students by sex when providing overnight accommodations. Some school policies provide that students must be treated consistent with their gender identity in making such assignments. Colorado's Boulder Valley School District issued guidelines … providing that when a school plans overnight accommodations for a transgender student, it should consider "the goals of maximizing the student's social integration and equal opportunity to participate in overnight activity and athletic trips, ensuring the [transgender] student's safety and comfort, and minimizing stigmatization of the student."
Dress codes: "Dress codes that apply the same requirements regardless of gender are the most inclusive for all students and avoid unnecessarily reinforcing sex stereotypes. To the extent a school has a dress code that applies different standards to male and female students, some schools have policies that allow transgender students to dress consistent with their gender identity."
Source: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students, “Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students” (May 2016).
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