Written by Haley Worth @haley_worth
Minnesota’s Department of Education’s (DOE) online resources for schools to be more LGBTQ+ friendly recommends not telling parents or other students if they’ll be sharing a room with a transgender student on school trips. Disclosing such information would violate the privacy rights of the transgender student.
One of the resources linked to the DOE website is the, “2016 Transgender students in schools Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Public School Boards and Staff” from the National School Boards Association which explains the definition of “transgender,” various related case laws, and answers frequently asked questions related to transgender students.
Under the question, “Should a school notify the other students assigned to the same sleeping room, or their parents, that a transgender student will be assigned to their room?” the answer is, “No. As noted above, a student’s gender identity is likely to be considered personal information in a student’s education record that may not be disclosed to other absent parental consent under FERPA and that may be protected by the constitutional right to privacy.”
According to the U.S Department of Education, “The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records.”
However, the answer on the FAQ says that a student’s gender identity is “likely” to be considered personal information, and “that may be” protected by the right to privacy. There’s also an answer to a different question that indicates how important it is to maintain a safe environment for all students.
The question is asked, “Is a transgender student, or his/her parents, required to notify school staff of the student’s transgender status?”
The answer is, “No. Unless a family is seeking action by school officials such as changes to official records, changes in the way a student is addressed at school, or accommodations regarding restrooms or locker rooms, there is no legal requirement that parents notify the school of a child’s transgender status.”
“That said, awareness of a student’s gender identity is important so that you as school officials can engage in appropriate conversations with the student and family, maintain records accurately, make any needed accommodations for use of facilities, and ultimately ensure a safe learning environment for all. School boards should consider adopting policies around gender identity that prepare staff to address issues before they arise.”
The guide also answers questions about restroom usage, locker rooms, sports, and how to handle an employee who won’t use a student’s preferred name and pronouns. An employee can face disciplinary action for failing to obey the school’s commands, and potentially causing, “a discriminatory or hostile environment for the transgender student.”
Another resource listed on the DOE website is, “A Toolkit for Ensuring Safe and Supportive Schools for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students” that goes over similar topics explaining definitions, restrooms, locker rooms, pronouns, etc. This guide states that if a student takes issue with sharing the restroom, locker room, or a hotel room with a transgender student, the school should remove the concerned student, but only if that removal doesn’t offend the transgender student.
“Schools should work with transgender and gender nonconforming students to ensure that they are able to access needed facilities in a manner that is safe, consistent with their gender identity and does not stigmatize them. Privacy objections raised by a student in interacting with a transgender or gendernonconforming student may be addressed by segregating the student raising the objection provided that the action of the school officials does not result in stigmatizing the transgender and gender nonconforming student.”
Minnesota’s DOE website also recommends students starting “Gender and Sexuality Alliances” (GSA) groups, and including adding LGBTQ+ history, people, and other subjects into the curriculum.