Atascadero schools address transgender rights
Federal mandate, state law lets students choose bathroom based on gender identity
–Atascadero schools must provide transgender students access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, and have since 2014. New federal rules introduced recently in addition to current Californian state law, allow transgender students to experience every aspect of school life as the gender they express, including but not limited to bathroom use and physical education.
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice guidelines released Friday, May 13, ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on gender. Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s sex, including a student’s transgender status.
Californian state law, AB 1266, which took effect in 2014, already prohibits public schools from discriminating on the basis of specified characteristics, including gender, gender identity, and gender expression. The existing law requires that participation in any type of physical education activity or sport be available to pupils of each sex including athletic teams and competitions, and use of facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.
The following statement was received from the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. James Brescia:
Local policies have been in place in California since AB 1266 passed in 2013 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “gender, gender identity and gender expression” SLO County school districts are in compliance with state law and will be unaffected by the recent directive from the President’s office. All San Luis Obispo County School Districts provide a safe and nurturing environment and strive to meet the needs of all students and their families.
In 2013, California legislators passed one of the first laws in the nation to codify access for transgender students to gender-specific school activities, such as sports teams, locker rooms and bathrooms that match their gender identity. Sixteen other states – Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington – and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting discrimination against transgender students, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, but California appears to have passed the first law that outlined those specific protections in education. Known as Assembly Bill 1266, the state law went into effect Jan. 1, 2014.
According to the guidelines, when schools are notified a student is transgender, the student must be treated consistently with the student’s gender identity. A school may not require transgender students to have a medical diagnosis, undergo any medical treatment, or produce a birth certificate or other identification document before treating them consistent with their gender identity. Schools are able to provide additional privacy options to any student for any reason. Students are not required to use shared bathrooms or changing spaces, when, for example, there are other appropriate options available; and schools can also take steps to increase privacy within shared facilities.
Atascadero Joint Unified School District Superintendent Tom Butler, Atascadero High School Principal Bill Neely and Vice Principal of Discipline and Attendance Karen Donaghe were contacted for comment, however they did not return multiple phone calls and emails requesting information.
