Dear Legal Mailbag:
As the principal of a middle school, life is always interesting and I have learned a lot. However, last week something came up that I have heard about but never had to address. One of the students met with me privately, and he told me that he is transgender and in the process of transitioning to female. I asked whether his parents were aware of his gender status, and he assured me that they were. I suggested that we all meet together, to which he readily agreed, and we set up a meeting for the next day.
Let me pause here. Now that the student has expressed a gender preference, I don’t know what pronoun to use. I will go out on a limb and start saying “she.” Anyway, the student and her mother came to see me yesterday. They explained that the student has long identified as female, but has only recently decided to live her life as such. They asked if I would change the school records to her new chosen female name, and further if I would instruct all staff members to treat her as female for all purposes, including access to bathrooms and locker rooms. I was as supportive as I could be, given my confusion, and I told them that I would consider their requests and be back to them.
I try to keep up, and I know that there has been litigation over such requests. This seems to be a situation, however, in which I can be sued no matter what I do. What does Legal Mailbag suggest that I do?
Thank you,
Seeking Help
Dear Seeking:
You have asked a good question with a simple answer. You should do what the student and her mother ask; you should treat the student in a manner consistent with her gender identity. Indeed, you made the correct transition in your using the pronoun “she” once she expressed her gender identity to you.
Perhaps a little lesson in recent history would be helpful. In 2011, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act 11-55, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. Included in that law was an amendment to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-15c, which prohibits discrimination against students in the public schools on various bases, which now include gender identity and expression. However, what exactly that means was the subject of some debate and uncertainty at the time.
In October of 2012, the Connecticut Safe School Coalition provided “Guidelines for Connecticut Schools to Comply with Gender Identity and Expression Non-Discrimination Laws.” The coalition advised that school officials should defer to the wishes of transgender students as to their gender identity without regard to the sex assigned at birth. Accordingly, the coalition advised that school officials should grant parent or student requests to change school records to conform to any new chosen name, and further that such students should have access to all school facilities that conform to their gender...
