Meeting the Needs of Our Transgender
Students
JENNIFER L. LEVI
DIRECTOR, TRANSGENDER RIGHTS PROJECT
Time magazine cover from June 9, 2014
with transgender activist and actress Laverne Cox
Language and Definitions
Gender Identity: a person’s internal, deeply felt sense of their gender
Gender Expression: the manner in which a person expresses their gender identity
to the outside world
Transgender: individuals with a gender identity that is different from the sex
assigned to them at birth
Cisgender (non-transgender): individuals with a gender identity that is the same as
the sex assigned to them at birth
Gender transition: the process by which a transgender person starts living as the
gender with which they identify; can include social, medical, and legal transitioning
Sexual orientation: a person’s orientation with regard to relationship development
and desire; heterosexuality; bisexuality; homosexuality; asexuality
Transgender Discrimination
Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey
In 2011, the National LGBTQ Task Force and the National Center for Transgender
Equality surveyed 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.
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41% of respondents reported an attempted suicide
78% reported harassment in grades K-12
90% reported harassment or mistreatment on the job
26% lost a job due to being transgender
19% experienced homelessness
53% had been verbally harassed in a place of public accommodation
Transgender Youth in Schools
◦ 42% of transgender students report having been prevented from using their
preferred name
◦ 59% report being required to use a bathroom or locker room based on their legal sex
◦ 31% report having been prevented from wearing clothing of choice
GLSEN, The 2013 National School Climate Survey, 2013.
Transgender Youth in Schools continued
◦ 65% of transgender youth felt unsafe in school because of how they expressed their
gender
◦ 87% were verbally harassed because of their gender expression
◦ 53% were physically harassed
◦ 26% were physically assaulted
GLSEN, “Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation’s Schools,” 2009.
◦ Over 20% of transgender youth report having to drop out of school due to harassment
Preston Mitchum & Aisha Moodie-Mills, “Beyond Bullying: How Hostile School Climate Perpetuates the School-to-Prison Pipeline for LGBT
Youth,” Center for American Progress, 2014.
States with Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Laws (as of May 21, 2014)
Minnesota
Washington
Rhode Island
Iowa
New Mexico
Oregon
California
Vermont
Washington,
D.C.
Colorado
Illinois
Nevada
Maine
Massachusetts
Hawaii
New Jersey
Connecticut
Delaware
Maryland
States banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity/expression (18 states and the District of Columbia)
Laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation (3 states)
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Nicole Maines, plaintiff in Doe v. Clenchy
Medical Transition – Gender Dysphoria
Psychotherapy
Real Life Experience
Hormone Blockers – delay puberty
Cross-gender hormones – masculinize or feminize consistent
with gender identity
Surgeries – multitudes including chest/breast, genital
(many), FFS
Medical Associations Support Medical
Necessity of Treating Gender Dysphoria
American Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
Endocrine Society
National Association of Social Workers
World Professional Association for Transgender
Health (WPATH)
Nicole Maines, plaintiff in Doe v. Clenchy
Coy Mathis, a transgender girl who won the right to use the girls
restroom at her Colorado elementary school
Coy Mathis and her family on Katie Couric
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTRw2QiOfOM
Jazz Jennings, transgender rights activist and author of the
children’s book I Am Jazz
Barbara Walters Jazz interview (2nd one):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJw3s85EcxM
Jazz interview about her picture book and life with
some excerpts from Barbara Walter’s interview and
questions about her dating that are questionable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2JdPNAsaTs
Leelah Alcorn, a 17-year-old transgender girl
who took her own life in December 2014
Excerpt from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
“Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence”
360 Degree Review of Practices and Policies
Admissions
Alumnae interviewing policies
Admissions for single-sex
schools
Facilities
Sex-segregated facilities
Dorms/rooming
Supporting Transgender
Students
Student non-disclosure and
disclosure, where appropriate
School Culture and Inclusion
Mission for single-sex schools
Inclusive, affirming
environment
Transitioning (including
maintaining student status at
single-sex schools)
Culture
Confidentiality (of historical
and medical records and
beyond)
Compliance with state and
federal laws
Parent conflict issues
Traditions
Sports
Health and sex education
Diploma (corrections)
Basic Principles (1)
A transgender girl is a girl. A transgender boy is a boy. Policies and
practices should reflect affirmation of a student’s gender identity.
There is no “magic moment” of transition, particularly for young people.
The strongest determinant of a young person’s sex is his/her lived
experience of his/her gender (e.g. gender identity).
Peer affirmation/acceptance determined by strength of school leadership.
“No flinch” moment – questioning of transgender student or
segregating/marginalizing undermines inclusion and affirmation.
Non-Binary Identified Students
Agendered
Genderqueer
Gender fluid
Basic Principles (2)
Be guided by the principles of dignity, affirmation, and inclusion.
Mission – single sex schools
Supporting and furthering the development and education of girls
(including transgender girls).
Supporting and furthering the development of girls and transgender
boys (recognizing the shared history and experience of girls and
transgender boys and supporting transgender boys who matriculate
as girls) .
Supporting and furthering the development of all students with
focus on all but non-transgender (cisgender) boys.
Admissions Policies
◦ Mills College
◦ Admits self-identified women and people assigned female at birth who do not fit into the
gender binary; admits students who identify as female, who were not assigned female at
birth but live and identify as women at the time of application, and students who are legally
assigned female but identify as transgender or genderfluid
◦ Mount Holyoke College
◦ Admits students who are female or identify as a woman or were ever assigned sex female
◦ Bryn Mawr College
◦ Admits female students – students who were assigned female at birth, transwomen,
intersex students who live and identify as women at the time of application, and intersex
students who do not identify as male
Implementation of Admissions Policies
◦ Mills College (student resolution of conflict)
◦ If there is conflict between student’s self-identified gender and gender on legal documentation,
the student is encouraged to contact admissions office
◦ Student self-identification is driving force behind Mills College’s eligibility decision.
◦ Mount Holyoke College (self-identification)
◦ Office of Admissions only knows that an application is from a transgender student if the student
self-identifies as transgender
◦ Does not require any statement beyond an applicant’s gender self-identification
◦ Bryn Mawr College (external confirmation)
◦ Where an applicant’s gender identity is not clearly reflected in application materials, Bryn Mawr
may request additional information, which could include verifiable legal or medical steps taken
to affirm gender