Progress seen, but still many barriers for transgender students, UW-Madison study finds
Doug Erickson, Wisconsin State Journal
March 8, 2015
A first-of-its-kind UW-Madison study has dug deep into the lives of transgender high school students in Wisconsin, finding both hopeful signs and dire circumstances.
Students spoke glowingly of teachers who went to bat for them and schools where they felt safe, but also of humiliating and sometimes dangerous situations that undercut their educations.
One student was made to leave the school grounds to use a gender-neutral bathroom at a restaurant across the street. Another said the school's principal pulled her out of a class during an exam and told her to stop her gender transition because it was making others uncomfortable.
Almost all spoke of challenges, though the seriousness varied, said Sara McKinnon, who undertook the study with fellow researcher Maurice Gattis.
Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/local_schools/progress-seen-but-still-many-barriers-for-transgender-students-uw/article_c9d09fef-61c3-5e7f-b6b6-99304a7f387c.html (http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/local_schools/progress-seen-but-still-many-barriers-for-transgender-students-uw/article_c9d09fef-61c3-5e7f-b6b6-99304a7f387c.html)
I feel for them, I really do. But we have made so much progress in just the last decade. Can you imagine kids going through this at school just fifteen years ago? It would have been absolutely impossible.
Cindi