(Photo credit: TreVoy Kelly/Pixabay)
According to Department of Education memo transgender students shall be protected from discrimination and harassment under Title IX. It specifically states “Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity and the Office of Civil Rights accepts such complaints for investigation.”
State statute prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of gender identity. Board of Education policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. These prohibitions affirm that transgender students shall be protected from discrimination and harassment in the public school system. District employees shall respond appropriately to ensure that schools are free from any such discrimination or harassment.
Each school and the district shall ensure that students who are transgender and gender nonconforming have a safe school environment. This includes ensuring that any incident of discrimination, harassment, or violence is given immediate attention, including investigating the incident, taking appropriate corrective action, and providing students and staff with appropriate resources. Complaints alleging discrimination or harassment based on a person’s actual or perceived transgender status or gender nonconformity shall to be handled in the same manner as other discrimination or harassment complaints through the Equal Opportunity Services Office and the district support team.
The goal shall be to maintain continuity of the student’s education in a safe learning environment. In general, schools shall aim to keep students who are transgender and gender nonconforming at the original school site. Administrative transfers shall not be a school’s first response to harassment and shall be considered only when necessary for the protection or personal welfare of the transferred student or when requested by the student or the student’s parent/legal guardian and approved by a member of the superintendent’s leadership team pursuant to administrative procedural directive. The student or the student’s parent/legal guardian shall consent to any such transfer prior to an administrative transfer taking place.
In recent years, gender mainstreaming in education has been discussed and studied. In the Philippines, however, research has tended to focus on extreme ends of the implementation process such as the awareness of educators about the gender perspective or the success in incorporating gender in their pedagogical practices, rather than an in-depth analysis on the overall experience of educators in the government’s attempt to mainstream gender-and-development education in schools.
The Philippines is home to a wide range of lifestyles that add color and vibrancy to its citizens. Gender expression is the way in which an individual enacts their thoughts and beliefs about their gender, or their gender self-concepts, such as in the femininity and masculinity of their appearance and behavior.The expression of your gender through the way you behave and dress is an important part of your self-identity, and is central to your mental health and wellbeing. Many transgender people hide their gender expression in public for fear of negative reactions, violence or discrimination.
Access to Gender-Segregated Activities and Areas
Restroom Accessibility
Students shall have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity at school. Where available, a single stall bathroom may be used by any student who desires increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason. The use of such a single stall bathroom shall be a matter of choice for a student, and no student shall be compelled to use such bathroom.
Locker Room Accessibility
Transgender students shall have access to the locker room of their gender identity and shall not be forced to use the locker room corresponding to their sex assigned at birth. In locker rooms that involve undressing in front of others, transgender students who want to use the locker room corresponding to their gender identity shall be provided with the best possible available accommodation. Based on availability and appropriateness to address privacy concerns, such accommodations could include, but are not limited to:
• Use of a private area in the public area (e.g., a bathroom stall with a door, an area separated by a curtain, a PE instructor’s office in the locker room);
• A separate changing schedule (either utilizing the locker room before or after the other students);
• Use of a nearby private area (e.g., a nearby restroom, a nurse’s office).
Gender Segregation in Other Areas
As a general matter, schools should evaluate all gender‐based activities, rules, policies, and practices — including, but not limited to, classroom activities, school ceremonies, and school photos — and maintain only those that have a clear and sound pedagogical purpose. Students shall be permitted to participate in any such activities or conform to any such rule, policy, or practice consistent with their gender identity.
As a general rule, in any other circumstances where students are separated by gender in school activities (e.g., class discussions, field trips), students shall be permitted to participate in accordance with their gender identity.
Dress Codes
Schools may enforce dress codes pursuant to administrative procedural directive. Students shall have the right to dress in accordance with their gender identity within the constraints of the dress codes adopted by the district and the school. School staff shall not enforce a school’s dress code more strictly against transgender and gender non-conforming students than other students. Dress code policies should be inclusive and flexible. They should not prevent trans people and others from dressing according to their expressed gender.
Accommodation of transgender students and staff by school boards
Most school boards have developed accommodation guidelines for transgender and gender non-conforming students and staff to build respectful and inclusive school communities. These guidelines assist in addressing accommodations based on gender identity and expression to raise awareness and protect against discrimination. The guidelines follow an individualized approach where schools must consider each student’s needs independently and appropriately respond to accommodation requests on an individual basis.
Some possible accommodations made by schools include:
Names and pronouns – trans students and staff have the right to be addressed by name and pronoun in accordance with their gender identity.
Curriculum integration – School boards should challenge gender stereotypes and integrate trans-positive information into the curriculum.
Washroom access and change rooms – Students and staff members should have an accessible all-gender single stall washroom for increased privacy, regardless of the reason for their use.
Sports activities and gym classes – Students must be able to exercise their right to participate in gender separated sports and physical education class in accordance with their gender identity.
The duty to accommodate the needs of trans people is a shared responsibility. Everyone involved should cooperate in the process, exchange only necessary information and explore options while respecting privacy.
Organizations are liable for any discrimination and harassment that happens. They are also liable for not accommodating a trans person’s needs unless it would cause undue hardship. They must deal with complaints, take steps to prevent problems and provide a safe, welcoming environment for trans people.
Organizations should learn about the needs of trans people, look for barriers, develop or change policies and procedures and undertake training. This will help make sure trans people and other gender non-conforming individuals are treated with dignity and respect and enjoy equal rights and freedom from discrimination.
References
https://www.aps.edu/about-us/policies-and-procedural-directives/procedural-directives/j.-students/non-discrimination-for-students-gender-identity-and-expression
https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/gender-identity-and-gender-expression-brochure
