The Right To Jobs And An Education (Part 1)

Everyone under federal law has a right to education in a safe learning environment. The Findlaw website says,

Both state and federal governments have recognized a student's need for school safety. Several states have passed anti-bullying laws, including California, Arkansas, and Colorado, [including Connecticut] aimed at making schools safe for learning. In addition, the federal government has laws in place, such as the First Amendment, Establishment Clause, and others aimed at making sure school districts provide equal protection of federal and state constitutional rights to all citizens, including students.

That includes transgender students, something Trump, DeVos, and Sessions just don’t understand.

Navigating the Evolving Field of Transgender Rights in Independent Schools (Part I)
Transgender rights are an evolving area of the law, where case law decisions are inconsistent at best. But one thing is clear—failing to proactively develop polices will create uncertainty and require unnecessary time and energy when questions ultimately arise.The Legal Intelligencer
By Justin G. Weber and Brian H. Callaway
August 03, 2018

Transgender rights are an evolving area of the law, where case law decisions are often inconsistent. But one thing is clear—failing to proactively develop polices will create uncertainty and require unnecessary time and energy when questions ultimately arise. And, at worst, being unprepared could result in challenges from all sides—challenges similar to those faced by Township High School District 211 in Illinois. In 2013, a transgender student filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against the district. The district resolved the matter by agreeing to allow the student to use the locker room associated with the student’s gender identity. As a result, a group of students and families who opposed this policy sued the district alleging privacy violations.

Some people think that what the law says as “sex” only means what is between your legs while others look at the Supreme Court decision that says “sex” also includes “sex stereotyping”.

Medically sex is,

…According to the American Medical Association as a publisher, not as medical opinion, “sex” “refers to the biological characteristics of males and females,” while “gender” can include more than biological characteristics, “and serves as a cultural indicator of a person’s personal and social identity.” When people identify as transgender, it means, “among other things, that their gender identities are at odds with the sexes listed on their original birth certificates and with their external sex organs.”…

While the courts sees it as,

The case law is split on how to deal with these distinctions. In decisions recognizing transgender rights, courts conclude that “sex” encompasses sex-stereotyping and gender…

The courts that have ruled in our favor all base their opinions on Supreme Court rulings on Title VII and Title IX, while courts that have ruled against us have based their decisions on the medical definition of “sex.” Note that justice Kavanaugh who is Trump Supreme Court nominee believes in the medical definition and not what the the Supreme Court has ruled.

Navigating the Evolving Field of Transgender Rights in Independent Schools: Part IIPrivate schools across the country continue to grapple with how to properly educate all students in light of still-developing issues regarding transgender rights, as well as continuing legal uncertainty about those rights.
The Legal Intelligencer
By Justin G. Weber and Brian H. Callaway
August 22, 2018

Private schools across the country continue to grapple with how to properly educate all students in light of still-developing issues regarding transgender rights, as well as continuing legal uncertainty about those rights. Part I of this article focused on Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which remains a landmark federal law regarding education.  Although private schools that do not receive federal funding are not subject to Title IX, other federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on “sex” may apply and can provide insight on evolving interpretations. In this Part II, we examine those other laws. Part III of the article will address the considerations schools should make when establishing, amending, or reviewing policies and best practices relevant to transgender students. Decisions under other federal statutes can be found on either side of the issue, but, if the arc of the law is bending, it bends toward the broader definition of “sex” and recognizing transgender rights.

Fair Housing Act
A federal judge in Colorado ruled that the Fair Housing Act (FHA) can encompass discrimination against transgender people in the housing context, see Smith v. Avanti, 249 F. Supp. 3d 1194, 1197-99 (D. Colo. 2017). The plaintiffs, a transgender woman and her family, sought rental housing but were denied. The court found that this was a violation of the FHA based on a “sex stereotyping” theory in that the defendant relied on stereotypes “of to or with whom a woman (or man) should be attracted, should marry, or should have a family.” The plaintiffs also argued that the defendant discriminated based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but the court declined to rule on those issues as they were not actually pleaded in the complaint. While Avanti did not involve a school, because the FHA may apply to schools that provide certain types of housing, it may capture schools that are not subject to Title IX.
[…]
Nontransgender Students and Privacy
When schools permit transgender students to use facilities consistent with gender identity, not all parties have been satisfied. Students and parents have challenged these policies on constitutional grounds, albeit so far unsuccessfully, alleging that they violate the privacy rights of nontransgender students by requiring them to use facilities with members of the opposite biological sex.

Although courts have recognized limited privacy rights, they generally have not found that allowing transgender students to use facilities consistent with the student’s gender identity infringes on nontransgender students’ privacy rights…

Back when segregation was the norm, it was argued that mixing the races would make white people nervous in schools, in bathrooms, and working alongside of a black person. And it is the same argument that Anita Bryant used against gays and lesbians.

Feeling uncomfortable is not ground to discriminate.