ORELAND, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Youth Congress congratulates the Great Valley and Springfield Township School Boards on adopting the first formal, recognized, comprehensive transgender student district policies in Pennsylvania. The Great Valley School Board introduced Policy 103.3 on March 14, 2016 and adopted their regulation on April 18, 2016. The Springfield Township school board introduced Policy 253 on March 15, 2016 and unanimously adopted the regulation at their meeting last night, April 19, 2016.
The Lower Merion School District, also in Montgomery County, had a first reading of their transgender student policy on Monday. The Pittsburgh School District has recently announced its plans to introduce their policy next month. Across 500 districts, many schools throughout Pennsylvania have in practice supported transgender students for years, but are now beginning to take the critical steps to enact official policies.
The comprehensive transgender student policies being enacted and considered address critical areas of educational opportunities. They include privacy rights for transgender students, handling academic records, incorporation in sex-segregated programs, restroom and locker room access, integration in athletic activities, dress codes, and general harassment and discrimination.
The Pennsylvania Youth Congress has been working with districts across the commonwealth in support of these efforts for several years. Jason Landau Goodman, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, said “We are incredibly proud of both the Great Valley and Springfield Township communities for their historic move in supporting transgender students, and commend the leadership of Great Valley School District Board President David Barrett, and Springfield Township Board President Gretchen Slapinsky and Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hacker, and in ensuring the policies were adopted.”
Further he added, “These policies are essential in providing safe and positive educational experiences for transgender students. In turn, they help lift up entire school communities in celebrating all students, regardless of their gender identity or expression.”
However, steps backward are being considered by a few school districts. On Monday evening, another three-hour school board meeting took place in the Pine-Richland School District in Allegheny County. While transgender students have been supported by the administration in practice, a network of parents has come together to try and strip away the basic accommodations that have been made for them. An informational meeting on transgender youth will take place in Pine-Richland on Thursday.
With yesterday’s landmark ruling in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, transgender students in Pennsylvania now have elevated support in the federal courts. In 2014, the United States Department of Education issued guidance that gender identity and expression are protected classes in Title IX, through sex stereotyping. Now, that guidance now has the backing of law through the federal judiciary. This case provides assurance that students can file a federal complaint and bring a suit against a school district for discriminating against them on the basis of gender identity or expression.
The Pennsylvania Youth Congress has reached out to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to better coordinate the advancement of these policies, and meaningfully support transgender students across the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Youth Congress calls upon the agencies to collectively address supporting transgender students and awaits their response.
If school board members or community members in Pennsylvania are interested in any assistance in advocating for a local school district policy supporting transgender students, they are encouraged to directly reach out to the Pennsylvania Youth Congress at info@payouthcongress.org or call 717-743-1035.
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The Pennsylvania Youth Congress advances freedom and justice for young LGBT Pennsylvanians through advocating for responsible public policy. As a youth-led organization, PYC represents citizens working toward safer schools and thriving communities across the commonwealth.
payouthcongress.org
NOTE: On April 22, 2016, this online press statement was updated to reflect that the Great Valley School District adopted their policy on April 18, 2016, before Springfield Township’s on April 19, 2016. Together they are the first known policies in Pennsylvania. In our wording we celebrated Springfield Township as the first widely and publicly known district to take this action, but acknowledge that Great Valley adopted theirs before on Monday once it became widely and publicly known.