SCHOOL OBLIGATIONS
According to a joint guidance by the U.S. departments of Justice and Education, when students or their parents notify a school a student is transgender, that school must treat the student consistent with the student’s identified gender. Part of this directive includes a school not requiring transgender students to have a medical diagnosis, undergo medical treatment, or produce a birth certificate or other identification document before treating them consistent with their gender identity.
Other obligations of the school include:
- respond promptly and effectively to sex-based harassment of all students, including harassment based on a student's actual or perceived gender identity, transgender status or gender transition;
- treat students consistent with their gender identity even if their school records or identification documents indicate a different sex;
- allow students to participate in sex-segregated activities and access sex-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity; and
- protect students' privacy related to their transgender status under Title IX and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
The U.S. departments of Justice and Education released a “joint guidance” on Friday that provides school districts and educators information to make certain students, including transgender students, “can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex.
The guidance directive also makes clear that schools “can provide additional privacy options to any student for any reason.”
It does not require any student to use shared bathrooms or changing spaces when other appropriate options are available. Schools can also take steps to increase privacy within shared facilities.
Some area school officials said they have already taken steps to accommodate transgender students.
“Mason City Schools didn’t need the federal government to tell us how to treat students,” said Tracey Carson, spokeswoman for Mason Schools.
“The practices in this “Dear Colleague” letter are already what we’re doing,” said Carson. “We care deeply about each child in our schools, and work with families to ensure that each child feels safe and included so that he or she can learn. If a child is identified as transgender, we work with that child, the child’s family and their medical professionals to ensure that we’re meeting our student’s needs.”
Lauren Boettcher, spokeswoman for Lakota Schools, said officials there follow “all state and federal laws, guidelines and directives. With regard to transgender students, we will continue working closely with our legal counsel to understand how the new guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education impacts our day-to-day work.”
“Our staff will continue to collaborate with families and students on an individual basis in accordance with the law and with respect to student privacy,” said Boettcher.
Joni Copas, spokeswoman for Hamilton Schools said district officials will “work with our attorneys to understand the guidelines regarding transgender bathroom access for students as we adhere to all state and federal laws and guidelines.”
The guidance directive stems from recent questions from school districts, colleges and universities about how best to ensure transgender students are protected from discrimination, and all students are able to learn in a worry-free environment.
Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools that receive any federal funds are not allow to discriminate based on a student’s sex, which the departments of Justice and Education say includes a student’s transgender status. Students must be treated as the gender they identify with, according to the release.
“There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex,” said U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. “This guidance gives administrators, teachers and parents the tools they need to protect transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust school policies.”
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Greg Power, superintendent of Little Miami Schools, said the Warren County district’s “board members and administrators will be reviewing this new guidance with the help of legal counsel to understand all that it entails.”
“This is an evolving issue and we will be working on a plan to move forward. Little Miami, like many area school districts, has received ongoing guidance from its legal counsel regarding its responsibilities. The district will continue to do as it has always done with each of its students — work with families and staff to ensure that their children’s needs are met,” said Power.
U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said federal, joint-department guidance “further clarifies” what the administration has said repeatedly.
“No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus,” King said. “Educators want to do the right thing for students, and many have reached out to us for guidance on how to follow the law. We must ensure that our young people know that whoever they are or wherever they come from, they have the opportunity to get a great education in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and violence.”
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