Philly Stands With Transgender Students
Earlier this week, Donald Trump made a political move that LGBTQ advocates say will hurt transgender students. Under President Obama, transgender students received protection under Title IX – a federal law that prevents gender discrimination in government-funded programs – which allowed them to use the restrooms, locker rooms, and pronouns of their identified gender, as well as to dress in their preferred clothing. Claiming that the guidance overstepped federal boundaries and that the decision should be left to individual states and school districts, Trump reversed it literally overnight Thursday.
Transgender students in Philadelphia will retain their rights, says the district superintendent.
For Philadelphia students, however, nothing is going to change. Philly Superintendent William Hite announced yesterday that policy will not change in the City of Brotherly Love and that the rights of trans students will be protected. “”It’s really important for us to ensure that all of our young people are safe and they’re respected and regardless of their identify, their gender identification, we are going to make sure they have what they need in order to be educated,” Hite said.
Discriminating against transgender students is detrimental and dangerous, say experts. ABC6 Action News quoted Deja Lynn Alvarez, a member of the mayor’s commission on LGBT affairs. “Anybody that understands children are children needs to stand up and say no you’re not going to target any child, no matter who they are, where they come from, how they grow up, what race, what gender, what ethnicity, what religion. No child should be a target,” Alvarez said.
Allowing trans students to use the facilities of their choice and to be identified as the gender they feel they are is not just a matter of safety, but of preserving the mental health of these students. Transgender teens have a higher suicide rate than any other group, and acceptance in school, home, and work environments is key to preventing tragedies.
