Schools confront new transgender education code

Supportive sentiments and concerned opposition categorize two sides emerging from Monday’s passage of California’s new education code, which allows transgender students to use school restrooms and locker rooms as well as play on athletic teams that match their “gender identity” instead of the sex listed on their birth certificate.
The new law, Assembly Bill 1266, was authored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this week, making California the first U.S. state to enact such legislation. Now, local school administrators, staff and faculty immediately plan to discuss the ramifications and/or procedures necessary to adjust to the changes.
Interim Superintendent Steven Betando of the Morgan Hill Unified School District said “communication is key” when confronted with such a situation. Although there is no set procedure in place yet, Betando believes a sit-down with the student and their parents “to find out what they’re comfortable with and their preference” is always a good way to start.
“The law says they are permitted to, but they may not want to,” said Betando, whose office has already started fielding calls from concerned parents asking about the district’s policy. “New legislation sometimes pits personal rights against personal rights – sometimes group rights – and it’s our responsibility to protect both.”
Betando said, over the course of his career and before the new legislation, he has accommodated transgender students by offering options such as using alternative facilities like a seldom-used staff restroom. However, “that certainly can be an option, but it’s not the only option,” explained Betando. “To me, it’s about respect for individual differences.”
Principal Patricia Jolly at Christopher High School also emphasized respect, acceptance and safety for all students.
“If, in fact, there are any students who are transgender that choose to make that known, we would certainly make sure the situation is safe for all students,” she said.
Jolly recalled how last year, an openly transgender student who has since graduated chose to use the nurse’s bathroom, rather than cause any kind of conflicts among fellow classmates.
While any student who comes out about his or her alternative lifestyle is “brave,” Jolly also pointed out that transgender students normally “do not reveal themselves because they want to stay anonymous” and “don’t want bring attention to themselves.”
At CHS, and Gilroy High School as well, the student body includes a “Link Crew” club that tackles in-school issues such as bullying and acceptance of all students, regardless of differences such as sexual orientation. Academic Counselor Marah Kuwada, coordinator for the 53-member Link Crew at CHS, supports the transgender education law she calls a “step in the right direction.” Kuwada believes most students who identify as transgender are “private about it,” but also acknowledges “problems might arise” as a result of the new education policy.
She reiterated CHS “would always do whatever we felt that had to be done” to ensure that a transgender student feels “safe and comfortable at our school. We want them to feel at home here.”
Athletic Director Julie Berggren believes the same goes for GHS, where, in past years, female student-athletes have played on male-dominated football and wrestling teams; a common occurrence at high schools throughout the country.
“We work really hard on this campus to build a society that welcomes all students … if you have a male student who identifies as a female student … I’d hope it wouldn’t be a problem,” said Berggren, who said she couldn’t imagine a student posing as a transgender just to play on a high school sports team. “Nobody is going to say that just so they can compete.”
Diane Ehrensaft, Director of Mental Health of the Child and Adolescent Gender Center in San Francisco and psychologist of UC San Francisco’s Pediatric Gender Clinic, said the law “will relieve the stress and distress that has been faced by transgender kids in the schools, some of whom won’t go to school because they have not been able to have access to the facilities that match their gender.”
“I feel we’re moving toward an era of much greater gender acceptance,” said Ehrensaft, who also authored the book, “Gender Born, Gender Made.”
“And our public schools are centers of education, so what better place to start teaching it than there?” she added.
Opponents of the new legislation say it undermines parental choice, puts school children into uncomfortable situations and gives an opening to mischievous students eager to catch a glimpse inside the other locker room.
Before the bill was signed into law, Gilroy resident John Houghton encouraged Dispatch readers in a letter to the editor to contact Senate Education committee members in opposition of the transgender education bill – a piece of legislation he called “extreme (and) shocking” and one that “will sacrifice our children’s safety on the altar of political correctness.”
“It’s uncomfortable for everybody,” said Houghton Tuesday. “The problem is these poor transgender and gay people are going to be more exposed to bullying than they have in the past.”
Houghton, 79, wants local school districts and parents of transgender children to make the final call on the best way to handle their specific situation rather than the state, which he believes “rushed” to make the bill into law without careful consideration.
Executive Pastor Carol Smith of South Valley Community Church described the issue as “complicated” and one that “we’ve been aware of and concerned about.” One way to accommodate the new law, she suggested, is for schools to possibly open a third bathroom for transgender students. However, under the law, if a transgender chooses to use a particular bathroom designated for males or females, they are within their rights even if this third option exists.
“We believe we’re feeding into a confusion that is not going to really help that person,” explained Smith. “It just seems to be opening up a whole dimension of arbitrary judgments on one’s maleness and one’s femaleness.”
Pastor Ronald Koch of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Gilroy has a different take. Good Shepherd is designated as a “Reconciling In Christ” congregation that “welcomes people of all sexual orientations fully into the life of the congregation.”
Koch said transgenders were previously “marginalized” and the new education law shows that society does, in fact, recognize and accept them.
“(The law shows) we are aware of you and are accommodating our society, programs, policies and physical space to show that you are a part of it,” Koch said.
Jim Walker, a licensed Marriage Family Therapist with offices in Oakland and San Francisco, said he was “delighted” when he heard about the passing of the the transgender education law. Walker was a driving force in the eventual passing of Senate Bill 1172, signed by Gov. Brown in September of 2012, which banned gay conversion therapy for minors.
“This law is following in those footsteps. It protects youth,” Walker said. “I think some schools can handle these kinds of problems in ways that help the kids. But other schools don’t know how to handle it.”
The legislation advanced from both houses of the Legislature on largely party-line votes. The bill also received support from the state’s two major teachers unions, the San Francisco and Los Angeles school districts – both of which had already instituted similar policies – and the California State PTA.
“A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”