Schools And Us.

All around the country the Trump courts are ruling against us and you know that they will all end up at the bench of the Supreme Court.

Ohio Senate clears ban on gender-affirming care for minors, transgender athletes in girls sports
PBS News Hour
By Samantha Hendrickson, Associated Press/Report For America
December 13, 2023

A Republican-backed proposal that would drastically affect how LGBTQ youth in Ohio live their everyday lives cleared the state Senate on Wednesday, despite adamant opposition from parents, medical providers and education professionals who call it cruel and potentially life threatening.

State senators, by a vote of 24-8 approved a multifaceted bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors and block transgender student athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports. A lone Republican, Sen. Nathan Manning of Northeast Ohio, joined Democrats in a “no” vote.

The bill now returns to the GOP-majority state House for amendment agreements before heading to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for final approval. DeWine has not said whether he will sign it. He previously had expressed doubts about the sports restrictions, saying such decisions were best made by individual sports organizations.

Under the legislation, minors in Ohio would be prohibited from taking puberty blockers and undergoing other hormone therapies or receiving gender reassignment surgery that would further align them with their gender identity.

Now I would like to point out that this Supreme Court voted in favor of Grimm in the 2021 Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board case where the court order school to allow trans people to use the bathroom of the gender that we are.

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The case is finally being heard!

Federal trial starts over Florida ban on transgender treatments
By CBS Miami Team
December 13, 2023


With the mother of a transgender girl testifying that it would be "devastating" if the child could not get treatment, a federal judge Wednesday began a trial in a constitutional challenge to Florida restrictions on such things as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender people.

The mother, a St. Johns County resident identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, was the first witness in what is expected to be a multi-day trial in the challenge to a state law and rules approved by the Florida Board of Medicine and Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine.

The law and rules block transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria, while placing additional restrictions on treatments for adults.

[…]

During opening arguments Wednesday, Mohammad Jazil, an attorney for the state, said the "state has every right to dictate some of the norms for medical treatment" for gender dysphoria, which the federal government defines clinically as "significant distress that a person may feel when sex or gender assigned at birth is not the same as their identity,"

But Thomas Redburn, an attorney for the plaintiffs, accused the state of "invidious discrimination" against transgender people. He said, for example, the state has not barred puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat other types of conditions.

"The state has singled out transgender people for disparate treatment without any adequate justification," Redburn said.

A number of courts that have said that not covering trans healthcare is illegal. However many courts have ruled against us so you know that this case will also be headed to the Supreme Court where it will be decided with the Trump court.

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The next article is from Maine where a school board is not following the law. Back in 2014 GLAD wrote,

•     In this 2014 breakthrough decision, Maine’s highest court ruled that denying a transgender girl the use of the girls’ restroom at her school violated her rights under Maine’s Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against transgender people.
•     The decision on behalf of Orono, Maine student Nicole Maines [I met Nicole Maines and her mother at the CTAC Transhealth and Law Conference when I was the Executive Director of CTAC], marked the first time a state court has ruled that transgender students must be allowed to use the bathrooms that match who they are.

Now we have this case...

Augusta school board votes down transgender-inclusive policy
Some school board members argued the policy needs more work, but others said there was plenty of time for adjustments since the document was introduced nearly a year ago.
Kennebec Journal via Central Maine.com
By Emily Duggan
December 15, 2023

In a polarizing vote, the Augusta Board of Education rejected a policy aimed at fostering a safe learning environment for transgender and gender expansive students.

The proposed policy would have required school staff to use students’ chosen names and pronouns, allowed students to use the restrooms and locker rooms that most closely match their gender identity and enabled affected students to work with their teachers to create education plans suited to their needs.

It would have also prohibited administrators from discussing a student’s gender identity with their parents without first notifying the student, in order “to avoid inadvertently putting the student at risk” if they have not come out to their family.

The board deadlocked in a 3-3 vote during the first reading of the policy at Wednesday night’s meeting, with James Orr, Kati McCormick and Pia Holmes opposing it and Rita Pello, Kimberly Martin and Kevin Lamoreau in favor of it.

Board Chair Martha Witham, who votes only when a tie must be broken, then voted against the policy, effectively killing it.

Meanwhile other schools around the state have adopted the policy.

The same policy — called “ACAAA Transgender and Gender Expansive Students” — has been adopted in a number of central Maine schools, including Hallowell-based Regional School Unit 2 and Gardiner-area Maine School Administrative Unit 11. Farmington-based Regional School Unit 9 adopted it just last week.

However, the policy is not mandated, it is up to the school district to adopt it but them the school system is responsible for any monetary awards for discrimination or any bullying.