One of the newer issues that are facing schools today is accommodating transgender students. The Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972 states: “Prohibition against discrimination; exceptions. No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…” This is talking about gender equality in schools. This means that a school cannot treat transgender students differently than other students of the same gender identity. If you were born as a female but identify as a male then you must treated the same as a male student. You must allow equal access to education, programs, and activities for all students including transgender students. Being transgender is when an individual’s gender identity is different from the sex assigned at birth. For example a transgender female was born a male but identifies as a female, and a transgender male was born a female but identifies as a male. These students are entitled to a safe and non-discriminatory environment, free of verbal and non-verbal harassment or hostility based on sex. Schools should be a welcome and safe place for all students no matter what their issues or abilities. Schools are now faced with the issue of whether or not to accommodate transgender students and whether or not to create policies specifically dealing with transgender students. Several
Scholars have been critical of the medical establishment’s and state’s involvement in constructing and policing of transgender identity. These kinds of pressing issues have occupied the small existing literature. There is not much information and studying what is being done on transgender in traditional areas, family studies research, such as their dating behavior and formation of intimate relationships in adulthood. There is little research on the issues around being parents, their children’s experiences with having transgendered parents, as well as relationships in the family as a whole, and relationships in work and school.
[The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) organization at my high school, which meets twice per month, generated a list of concerns that they shared with school administration. The focus was specifically about gender identity, the lack of support from school staff, and the daily scrutiny they face as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Through collaboration with my colleagues it was evident that there had been an increase in teacher and student referrals surrounding gender identity. The feedback from GSA clearly identified that as a school we are not meeting the needs of our LGBT students and those struggling with sexual orientation. Members of the GSA clearly feel that teachers ignore negative comments like “gay” and “faggot” when they hear them in class, that teachers may not clearly understand gender neutral language, and that our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) students do not feel safe and protected in school. Students needed support advocating for their right to use a restroom, correct pronoun, etc., requiring district, community, parent, and colleague
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students; part-time and full-time students; students with and without disabilities; and students of different races and national origins," it says. The guidance goes on to say that schools are obligated to "respond appropriately" to complaints of
Topics concerning transgender can be very overwhelming for some. When one thinks of the term transgender, one may think of the process of an individual identifying as the opposite sex. The opposite sex of what he or she was born as. For some, this may involve undergoing surgical procedures or taken hormonal medications to fulfill their desire. However, when thinking of this process, one automatically thinks of transgender adults. This is rarely a topic that one would assume would be racing through the minds of young children, but in fact it is. More children today than ever, are either speaking out about their identity concerns, or displaying it in their lives. In fact, according to Date Line NBC, “The handful of American doctors who specialize
One current court case is dealing with a federal judge releasing an injunction to momentarily restrict transgender students from using school bathrooms as well as locker rooms of their choice (Eldeib). In blocking students from using something as simple as a restroom or locker room, a student’s identity can be misconstrued. Especially with a student who may already feel differently about their identity. A mother in Denton, Texas, hopes to change the legal problems revolving around the controversy of bathroom laws in Texas schools. Amber Briggle states her 8-year-old transgender son has felt he needs to wait to use the restroom until he would arrive home. As well as this, Briggle confirms her son, MG’s grades dropped drastically. His grades continued to worsen until he was given a restroom alteration, allowing him to feel comfortable. (Wright). Along with MG, many students do not feel safe in their schools because of having to hide their transgender identity. Students may not feel safe just because Texas is such a conservative state. Ken Paxton and other state leaders even exchanged in transphobic rhetoric at the 2016 Texas GOP convention. Because of the strong conservative viewpoints in Texas, young people as well as students in the area may not feel accepted as who they are, leading them to disguise their true self. School is already a tough time in a child or teens life, and being discriminated against because of how one identifies does not make a student’s lifestyle any easier. Because transgender students in Texas schools are entitled to free expression of gender identity, they are also permitted to dress how they please. As well as wearing the clothes a transgender students feels most comfortable with, it is permissible to address these students by their preferred name. Because transgender
Every person in the United states is entitle to their rights based on the amendments. Transgender students are protected by Title IX and cannot be neglected in schools by anyone or they will stop receiving federal money. “The Justice and Education Departments issued guidance that, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s transgender status and that the departments would treat a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX.” (According to New York Times). This should be applied to every single school not only schools that get federal money because every transgender student should be protected by a law just as every other cisgender student. Every single citizen in the United states is protected by their civil rights which is “the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and
The School Board will be in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq., if they do not allow a male that is diagnosed with gender dysphoria and identifies as a female, access to the female restroom. Though the Supreme Court has not ruled on this topic, a Fourth Circuit ruling, the Department of Education and Department of Justice Dear Colleague Letter, and case law regarding transgender students can help enlighten the school board on this topic. An introductory understanding of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 will assist in this matter. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and its regulations prohibit sex discrimination in schools, educational programs and activities that are recipients of Federal funds. Within Title IX it specifically prohibits the discrimination of student’s based on gender identity, including the discrimination of transgender students. Title IX provides: “[n]o person… shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a).
In recent years, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has received an increasing number of questions from parents and schools regarding civil rights protections for transgender students. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination in educational programs/activities based on gender, including discrimination based on a student’s gender identity or transgender status. This letter, while it does not add requirements to applicable law, provides significant guidance and encouragement regarding a school’s Title IX obligations for transgender students and how a school is evaluate for compliance with these obligations.
More and more kids and teens are realizing that, they are not who they want to be. Meaning that, they want to, or have already changed their gender identity. This doesn’t seem like the problem, but these kids, teens, and even adults don't have the rights we have on a regular daily bases. According to Discovery Education, it says that, these kids and teens aren’t allowed to use the bathroom of the gender they choose to be. This is a big problem throughout the United States, especially in elementary, middle, and high schools. The government also took away the law stating that transgender people, are to use
Here in Canada, this issue has been brought forward in both communities and provincial level of concerns. To take a look closer to home, the city of Toronto had witnessed the complexity of this issue in the past years. A Toronto transgender teen who identifies as a male, was banned from using his high school boys restroom, and was forced to leave school grounds and search for a public bathroom at a gas station. Concerns were mentioned for the safety of Spencer, and also how he felt uncomfortable being forced to use the women’s restroom; however, several parents and students agreed with how the school was taking action to this problem. After a petition was enacted by fellow supportive students, Spencer was allowed to freely use the restrooms at his high school.
Transgender LGB and transgender students face discrimination and harassment at school all too often. Unfortunately, many schools officials know very little about how law requires then protect LGBT students. “Don’t be ashamed of your story it just might inspire someone else” 15% of trans people live poverty. Bottom surgery : surgery on the genitals to align the physical body to gender identity and expression.
The changing norms of the generation has brought upon commotion between various states because of the presidents judgement. The transgender bathroom policy allows transgender students to use the bathroom they identify as and not by the sex on their birth certificate (Fox News, 2016). The transgender bathroom policy has both successes and failure to ensure safety for transgender students resulting to its change being for not only trans-gender. Gender neutral bathrooms allows safety for those who are not only transgender, but also a part of the LGBTQ community, etc. but it causes a conflict with gender segregation. Adding additional bathrooms to suite other gender preferences costs more money and not everyone is going to accept what they walk into the bathroom and see. The gender neutral bathroom policy should be taken off of hold and be put into action because everything is constantly changing and those who do not identify as the sex they were assigned at birth are at risk for harm.
They deserve to feel safe in school, be protected from physical harm, and use the bathroom of their choice. The progress to giving them the liberties they yearn for, however, is slowed by the naive human beings that compose our society. Our country is filled with people that view themselves as kind, forgiving and welcoming, but they do not fight for what is right. Because our population is trapped in a utopian version of humanity, we cannot promote righteousness. Nevertheless, transgender students need us see the legitimate nature of civilization. In order for our world to match our currently inaccurate picture of life, we need to step out of our distorted reality. Since transgender students constantly face discrimination and violence, it is urgent that we create laws that specifically outline the freedoms belonging to transgender students, instead of mimicking the vague list of rights already part of federal law. With definitive legislation, we can effectively implement change. By making laws regarding the rights of transgender students, and then rigorously administering those rulings, we can change the way our society treats transgender students, and dramatically increase their quality of
In past generations, it has been clear to society that males and females use segregated bathrooms. It is also known that the rate of transgender people has been growing over the past years. Transgender people constantly face troubles when using a bathroom in public. Nevertheless, as society has become more aware of the transgender population and the issues that they face, many schools have had to decide how they will respond about the issue of school bathrooms when students identify themselves as transgender. A school should be able to provide separate facilities based on sex, but must allow transgender students access to the facility which matches their gender identity.
Transgender inequality has been the topic of controversy within recent years. As time moves on, rallies become more frequent, organizations are becoming more widespread, and legislation is being passed to help integrate transgender citizens within society. At the root of most of this controversy seems to be transgender students’ rights within education, and what progress can be made to expand upon those rights, or even sometimes the lack of them. While this controversy is vibrant and spreading like a wildfire, it is nowhere near a recent occurrence. Within education, transgender students have been the subject of exclusion in education throughout history, causing further controversy.