Dive Brief:

• More schools are moving to make their cultures and buildings more friendly to transgender students and some states have passed laws to bolster students' protection.
• The federal government has jumped in as well, directing all districts to treat students according to the gender identify they choose for themselves, regardless of what their birth certificate says.
• Some districts, including Wisconsin’s Green Bay School District and Minnesota’s St. Paul Public Schools, have taken things further by actively establishing gay-straight alliances at younger grade levels, establishing norms for how transgender students participate in sports, and including transgender issues in classroom curricula.

Dive Insight:

Transgender students face among the highest levels of harassment of any student group and have high rates of suicide and self harm, but any changes to school and district policies faced a hard road. Much of the backlash was based in misguided stereotypes and misunderstandings around what a transgender identity means. In St. Paul, district leaders spent time talking to community members and listening to concerns before adopting any changes. The federal government’s guidance opened the door for districts to take a more progressive approach, but many remain mired in politics over bathroom use in particular.

While districts like St. Paul and Green Bay are taking bold steps, it remains to be seen whether the majority will follow their lead. Even if they do, there remains a deficit of appropriate curriculum for students on transgenderism and training on how to eliminate bullying.