There are numerous serious issues facing gender-variant students (generally defined as gay, lesbian, transgender, and transsexual) that carry far-reaching implications. The root of the majority of the issues are generally to do with discrimination and sexual harassment. Likewise, schools carry a heavy burden when it comes to creating policies and procedures that protect these students.
Gender-Variant Students are Entitled to Protection
According to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, all students have a federal constitutional right to equal protection under the law. (Looney, 2004) But the very special circumstances surrounding gender-variant students, as well as their documented vulnerability, sets them apart as needing even more consideration than straightforward discrimination protections provide. Consider these examples of recent issues schools have made accommodations for:
- Installing restrooms and locker rooms that serve transgender students
- Including extracurricular activities supporting gay and lesbian students
- Managing events requiring overnight stays when gender-variant students attend
- Defining gender-specific sports teams
In addition to accommodations for these more common issues, schools are facing a variety of other interesting challenges that require conscientious care, confidentiality, strong parent partnerships, education for staff, and more. Here are wider issues schools have been forced to grapple with.
Confidentiality: Is the issue a matter of public knowledge? (For instance, is it commonly known that student self-identifies as gender-variant? Or is it a student who has undergone gender reassignment surgery and is moving to another school, therefore requiring confidentiality?) Issues surrounding confidentiality are paramount and must be clarified with the student and parents.
Language: Gender-variant students may present a challenge to schools in the very language they use. A student who is biologically female may not wish to be referred to as “she” and may instead wish to be called “he.” Schools have to determine, alongside the student and parents, how they will handle these types of details.
Dress Codes: Schools with dress codes are faced with particular dilemmas when it comes to gender-variant students. Is it legal to require boys to wear girls' clothing, and vice versa? Does a student’s freedom of expression trump any dress code? A recent example received public interest when a student sued his school for the right to wear a dress to prom.
Education and Awareness: It is doubtful that most teachers ever imagined themselves in the position of navigating or educating their students on gender-variant issues, yet that is exactly where many find themselves today. A perfect example of this is a kindergarten teacher who made headlines and was disciplined because she gave her students pledge cards to sign indicating they would always treat gender-variant students with respect and that they would not participate in hurtful or bullying behavior toward them. Increasingly, sexual education is being “aged down” and introduced to children in bite-sized pieces as young as 5 in schools.
The areas of education and awareness are where schools tend to face the most criticism and potential liability. Research indicates that instances of harassment (physical and verbal) and bullying are much more frequent in schools where there is no policy or education, yet many parents are irked by the idea of schools introducing such material.
Gender-Variance Issues are the New Normal
These items are just a few of the many complexities schools face when it comes to gender-variance issues. No doubt, there are many others on the horizon that will have legal implications. It's important to be aware of the very real issues that impact these students and their schools on a daily basis by paying special attention to items such as confidentiality, language, dress codes, and awareness.
Sources:
California Safe Schools Coalition. "Transgender and gender nonconforming student safety directive." 2000, January 1. p. 1.
Empire State Pride Agenda. Winning equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender New Yorkers and our families.2008.
Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. State of the states 2004: a policy analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) safer schools issues. 2004.
Hope, R. "Lawsuit challenges gender identity law protecting students’ civil rights." Gay Lesbian Times. 2007, December 6. p. 1.
Human Rights Campaign. (2008). "About hate crimes." p. 1.
Looney, S. Education and the legal system: A guide to understanding the law. New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. 2004.
Jennifer Hooks - Jennifer Hooks has written articles for both national and international markets. She writes on topics including leadership, creative ...
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