This And That In The News

It seems like it is a never ending battle in schools over trans students, the more we gain the more the pushback we face.

In Rhode Island they have had a non-discrimination law long before Connecticut passed our law so this should be a non-issue now…

R.I. hearing elicits clashing views on transgender student policy
The hearing began with a statement that the proposed regulation aims to follow through on state law that calls for protections for transgender students as well as for students whose gender expression differs from stereotypic expectations.
Providence Journal
By Mark Reynolds
February 6, 2018

PROVIDENCE — In Justice Gaines’ earliest childhood memories, she was a girl in every possible way save her anatomy.
She felt she was on the wrong team when the boys and girls were split up. She says she remembers “so distinctly” being the only one who knew she was a girl. Later, she concluded wrongly that she was a boy, according to the statement that Gaines gave to Rhode Island’s commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
The commissioner, Ken Wagner, is taking public input on the establishment of a regulation that forces all schools to adopt policies protecting the rights of transgender students.
[…]
The proposed regulation says every local school district must adopt “a policy addressing the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming students to a safe, supportive, and non-discriminatory school environment.” It sets a deadline of July 1.

Here in Connecticut the Department of Education issued guideline and a FAQ last year.

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Then up in Massachusetts...

‘I Can Now Say It’: Elementary School Principal Comes Out As Transgender
CBS Boston
February 7, 2018

SWAMPSCOTT (CBS) – A Massachusetts elementary school principal announced in a letter to the community they are transgender.

Shannon Daniels, principal of Stanley Elementary School in Swampscott, said they have struggled with gender identity since elementary school.

“I did my best to suppress those feelings for more than 40 years, and while I was successful to a degree, I have never felt completely happy or at peace. I got to the point that I thought I would never be able to reveal my true self. Frankly, the prospect of doing so was terrifying,” Daniels wrote.

“That has changed. … I can now say it: I am transgender.”

Daniels asked to be called Principal Daniels, and said people can use “he,” “she,” and “they” as pronouns.

Congratulation to Shannon.

I don’t think that the students will have any problem with her transition but I think that the adults will and that some of them will be very vocal about it.

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The nationally parents from around the country have petitioned the Secretary of Education...

Parents of transgender students criticize DeVos
USA Today
By Greg Toppo,
February 7, 2018

The parents of more than 700 transgender students nationwide are accusing U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of abandoning their children after the Trump administration rescinded restroom guidance designed to protect them from discrimination at school.

In a letter signed by families from 47 states and the District of Columbia, the parents note that nearly half of students who identify themselves as "transgender, non-binary, or otherwise non-cisgender" now say they never use school restrooms. Of those, 90% say they're "personally restricted" from using facilities that align with their gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBTQ civil rights group.

The Trump administration last February rescinded Obama-era protections for transgender students that let them use restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

They better watch out… Trump might accuse them of treason for criticizing a cabinet member!