State sets school guidelines for transgender students, recommends educators use students' chosen names, pronouns
A pride flag at Sunken Meadow Nature Center in Kings Park this month. The state recommended schools address students by their chosen names and pronouns without requiring parental consent. Credit: Howard Simmons
The state Education Department on Monday laid out new guidelines for educators to help transgender and gender expansive students transition in school, including recommending schools address students by their chosen names and pronouns without requiring parental consent.
The 42-page document comes eight years after the state first released guidance on transgender issues. Gender expansive, a term frequently used in the guidance, is an umbrella term that refers to young people who are exploring their gender expression and identity.
“Gender is fluid,” said Kathleen DeCataldo, assistant commissioner for the Office of Student Support Services at the department, when she presented the framework to the Board of Regents in a meeting Monday. “People have the right to choose how they identify.”
The guidance comes at a time when transgender issues in school have been at the center of controversies nationwide and on Long Island.
In Elwood, some from the school community signed an online petition to remove books including "George," a book about a young transgender student, from school libraries. And a 14-year-old from Medford was charged in December with threatening LGBTQ students at a high school in Holtsville.
The issue of parental notification has become particularly thorny. In the Comsewogue school district, for example, the parents of a fifth-grader filed a lawsuit against the district accusing a teacher of encouraging their child, who is female, to use male pronouns and a male name without the parents' knowledge.
Under the state's framework, students may transition in school without parental knowledge. The state emphasized that “paramount consideration” be given to student health and safety in situations where the student does not want their guardians notified.
“These situations should be addressed on a case-by-case basis, accounting for the student’s age and maturity,” the guidance said. “Prematurely disclosing a student’s gender identity can have severe consequences for the student.”
The guidance also says students are entitled to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity and instead of addressing students as “boys and girls,” educators are recommended to refer to them as learners, scholars or field-specific names such as writers or scientists.
LGBTQ advocates have said New York remains among the most welcoming states in the country for transgender people. Alabama, Virginia and Florida have passed laws or issued guidance prohibiting schools from withholding information about a student's gender identity from parents.
The heads of Nassau County Council of School Superintendents and Suffolk County School Superintendents Association said Monday they appreciated further guidance.
“Any guidance that we receive designed to assist schools in creating safe and accepting environments for our students is welcomed,” Dominick Palma and James Polansky said in a joint statement.
A transgender male student attending Sachem schools said Monday his school was supportive when he came out in seventh grade.
“To grow up in an affirming school makes me feel very grateful for it and just very happy,” the 17-year-old said. “It also helped increase my ability to absorb the education around me because I am in a safer setting than maybe some other districts or other states in this country.”
The teen, who is not being named for safety and privacy reasons, said the state's framework will help schools become more supportive environments.
“Being affirmed anywhere is important to a transgender person’s well-being and mental health,” he said. “I believe that it's going to save lives."
The state Education Department on Monday laid out new guidelines for educators to help transgender and gender expansive students transition in school, including recommending schools address students by their chosen names and pronouns without requiring parental consent.
The 42-page document comes eight years after the state first released guidance on transgender issues. Gender expansive, a term frequently used in the guidance, is an umbrella term that refers to young people who are exploring their gender expression and identity.
“Gender is fluid,” said Kathleen DeCataldo, assistant commissioner for the Office of Student Support Services at the department, when she presented the framework to the Board of Regents in a meeting Monday. “People have the right to choose how they identify.”
The guidance comes at a time when transgender issues in school have been at the center of controversies nationwide and on Long Island.
In Elwood, some from the school community signed an online petition to remove books including "George," a book about a young transgender student, from school libraries. And a 14-year-old from Medford was charged in December with threatening LGBTQ students at a high school in Holtsville.
The issue of parental notification has become particularly thorny. In the Comsewogue school district, for example, the parents of a fifth-grader filed a lawsuit against the district accusing a teacher of encouraging their child, who is female, to use male pronouns and a male name without the parents' knowledge.
Under the state's framework, students may transition in school without parental knowledge. The state emphasized that “paramount consideration” be given to student health and safety in situations where the student does not want their guardians notified.
“These situations should be addressed on a case-by-case basis, accounting for the student’s age and maturity,” the guidance said. “Prematurely disclosing a student’s gender identity can have severe consequences for the student.”
The guidance also says students are entitled to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity and instead of addressing students as “boys and girls,” educators are recommended to refer to them as learners, scholars or field-specific names such as writers or scientists.
LGBTQ advocates have said New York remains among the most welcoming states in the country for transgender people. Alabama, Virginia and Florida have passed laws or issued guidance prohibiting schools from withholding information about a student's gender identity from parents.
The heads of Nassau County Council of School Superintendents and Suffolk County School Superintendents Association said Monday they appreciated further guidance.
“Any guidance that we receive designed to assist schools in creating safe and accepting environments for our students is welcomed,” Dominick Palma and James Polansky said in a joint statement.
A transgender male student attending Sachem schools said Monday his school was supportive when he came out in seventh grade.
“To grow up in an affirming school makes me feel very grateful for it and just very happy,” the 17-year-old said. “It also helped increase my ability to absorb the education around me because I am in a safer setting than maybe some other districts or other states in this country.”
The teen, who is not being named for safety and privacy reasons, said the state's framework will help schools become more supportive environments.
“Being affirmed anywhere is important to a transgender person’s well-being and mental health,” he said. “I believe that it's going to save lives."
Guidelines issued by the state Department of Education on Monday include:
- Students and staff should be addressed by the name and pronouns they have expressed.
- Schools do not need to require permission, letters from professionals or other proof of gender identity. A student statement would suffice.
- Students are not required to obtain parental consent, or a court-ordered name change, to be addressed by their affirmed names and pronouns. Intentionally referring to a student verbally or in writing by a name or pronoun inconsistent with the student’s affirmed gender identity is a state Human Rights Law violation.
- Educators are encouraged to separate student groups not by gender but by last names or birth months. They are discouraged from associating certain colors (blue for boys and pink for girls) and activities (boys playing with trucks and girls playing with cooking toys) to students.
- In physical education, teachers should only run what the framework called “gender-segregated” activities after consideration and students should be allowed to participate in a manner consistent with their gender identity without penalty.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
