Meet Locke, one of the students brave enough to share his story.


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Despite the fact that gender transition for most young children involves no medical intervention, administrators routinely require burdensome medical or legal “proof” of a student’s gender identity or ask invasive and inappropriate questions. Gender nonconforming students are often targeted for “dress code violations” that can even lead to disciplinary action. Many transgender students also keep their status private – they have a constitutional right to do so – but schools as a matter of course “out” them to the classmates and staff by refusing them access to the appropriate bathrooms. Most students featured in this report were discouraged or outright prohibited from playing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.
“I wanted to be private about my transgender status, but my school wouldn’t even agree to call me ‘he’ or put my name on attendance sheets. It’s like I don’t belong in my own school. I had an anxiety attack and just broke down,” said Locke, an 18-year-old student from the Southern Tier region of Upstate New York. “I don’t have parents that back me up so I’m doing my best to advocate for myself, but I don’t know where to turn.”
Compounding these violations is the fact that in New York, many school staff members – even those trained according to the Dignity Act’s requirements – receive little to no guidance about how to set up a gender-inclusive learning environment. Transgender youth feel antagonized and avoid reporting incidents of harassment out of fear they will be labeled “troublemakers.” Schools in turn fail to provide a complete picture to the state: One-third of schools in New York State did not report any data whatsoever on harassment and discrimination for the 2012-13 school year.
Discrimination is harmful to all students, but for transgender students, it also undermines their full integration into society. National data links harassment in schools to sky-high rates of depression, unemployment and homelessness for transgender individuals. A staggering 41 percent of people who are transgender will attempt suicide at least once. Virtually all transgender students whose stories are featured in Dignity for All? have asked to leave school or have taken matters in their own hands by avoiding classes and disengaging from the school community.
“Our report documents what many have known for years: that discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression is pervasive in New York public schools and the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming students remain largely misunderstood by educators and administrators,” said NYCLU Lead Organizer Lauren Frederico, an author of the report. “Only clear and immediate action by the State Education Department will ensure the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming students are respected in all schools across the state.”
The NYCLU included in its report a model policy for school districts to follow to ensure that all students are respected and nurtured, regardless of their gender identity or expression. It also recommends the State Education Department take the following actions to ensure that all New York public schools know how to comply with state and federal law:
- Issue immediate guidance and training for all school staff.
- Improve data collection and reporting.
- Ensure all schools have an accessible, confidential means of accepting complaints or reports of discrimination, harassment and bullying.
- Pass and enforce a Commissioner’s Regulation to ensure transgender and gender nonconforming youth have the same educational benefits and opportunities that all students are entitled to.