‘We’ve got you.’ State College school board approves equity policies for transgender students
The State College Area School District Board of Directors had a clear message for its transgender and gender expansive students during Monday night’s meeting: “We’ve got you.”
The board approved two policies that ensure the equity and nondiscrimination of gender expansive and transgender students and individuals. The policies are nearly identical, but Policy 251 focuses on students, whereas Policy 100.2 focuses on others within the district.
The policies ensure that gender expansive and transgender students and staff are provided with equal opportunity and access to facilities, programs, services and activities.
Board member Lori Bedell said the district has heard from students that they didn’t feel like the district was “equipped in terms of policy and regulations to take care and address all of the needs that their identities require.”
“What this does is it assures them that we see them ... they’re valid and they have the right to be who they are in the district, and I think that because of the relative newness of the visibility and the willingness of ... this community to be who they are, we have to make sure we’re making way and providing them space to feel safe in that way,” Bedell said.
The policy tells students, “we’ve got you,” she said.
Policy 251 states, among other things, that the board supports a student’s preference to be addressed by a preferred name, pronouns and other terms, subject to administrative regulations. Every effort should be made to use the pronouns and names that a student requests, it states.
Hester Blum, a parent of a transgender child at State High, thanked the board during public comment for enabling conditions that allow her child to thrive.
“The fact that my child can have their chosen name and their identity listed in their district commutations has eased the transit that they have made into the district and eased their transition into their fullest expression of their self,” Blum said.
Included with Policy 251 — but not up for a vote — was a draft of administrative regulations. The board does not vote on administrative regulations, but the draft was included so the board could see what the administration anticipates and give feedback for consideration, Chris Rosenblum, director of communications for SCASD, told the Centre Daily Times in an email. There could be changes, but the basic intent of the regulations will stay the same, Rosenblum wrote.
The draft administrative regulations outline definitions, how a student or parent can change the student’s name, information about gender support plans, pronouns, education and training, facilities and athletics.
It states that students can participate in sports consistent with their gender identity and in accordance with PIAA bylaws; transgender students will have access to the restroom that “corresponds to their gender identity exclusively and consistently”; and transgender students are allowed to use the locker room that corresponds with the gender identity and not their assigned sex at birth.
Reasonable alternatives for any student, such as a single-stall bathroom, a private changing area or alternate changing schedule, will be made, it states.
Board member Jim Leous said he thought it was a good draft that reflects the needs and feedback of the community, and addresses issues the district has previously had.
The administrative regulations state that parents often initiate the conversation with the district when their child is transgender, particularly when younger children are involved. How the student, family and district collaborate through the process is outlined in the gender support plan template.
“If a student indicates that there may be low parental support, the student will be assigned to a supportive adult and school counselor to develop a gender support plan and work toward parental notification. This will be a living document which can be edited to meet the student’s evolving needs,” the regulations state.
During public comment, Michelle Young, of Ferguson Township, said the policy didn’t have any boundaries.
“So you can ... have a second grader that can reach out to a school counselor and say that there’s low parental support, the second grader will be assigned a counselor, receive counseling and support plan, develop, all without parental notification. And if that student takes six months to get to notification, that’s six months of counseling and activity without parents. And I can’t think of another situation where that would be allowed without parental notification,” Young said.
Policy 100.2 passed 8-0-1, with board member Laurel Zydney abstaining. Zydney said she was concerned about establishing policies for a specific group of students, adding that she thinks existing district policies already address discrimination, school climate and equity. Policy 251 passed unanimously.
Superintendent Bob O’Donnell, who said the district has been supportive of gender expansive and transgender students during his decadelong tenure, called establishing formal policies an “important” and “profound” step.
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 4:42 PM.
