Success and Opportunity for Transgender Students
Judy Chiasson, The Huffington Post, 08/12/2013 2:58 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judy-chiasson/success-and-opportunity-for-transgender-students_b_3744830.html
The key to success and opportunity for transgender students throughout California is currently in the hands of Gov. Jerry Brown. Both houses of the California legislature passed A.B. 1266, a bill that would ensure that transgender students have equal access to facilities and activities that match their gender identity. Gov. Brown will now decide whether to sign this important nondiscrimination bill into law.
By making sure that transgender students can be themselves at school, A.B. 1266 will enrich the diversity of our schools and, ultimately, the lives of all our students. I know this firsthand.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has had a similar approach in place for almost a decade. Our policy has helped transgender students feel comfortable, rather that isolated, at school. We made sure that students can use bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity. We have helped them join the appropriate gym classes and sports teams. And we have watched these students thrive.