NYCLU Report Exposes Illegal Treatment of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students in New York Public Schools
NEW YORK — The New York Civil Liberties Union today today revealing the serious and pervasive discrimination and harassment faced by transgender and gender nonconforming youth in New York public schools across the state. Despite New York’s reputation as a progressive leader, the state is failing to protect the right to an education of one of its most vulnerable student populations.
“In public schools across New York, transgender and gender nonconforming children as young as five face relentless harassment, threats and even violence for trying to access their right to an education,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “And instead of supporting kids, too many schools are magnifying the problem by imposing discriminatory and even illegal policies.”
The report, , documents anti-transgender discrimination in public schools since the passage of the Dignity for All Students Act five years ago, state civil rights legislation that was supposed to protect all public school students from bullying and harassment and explicitly prohibits discrimination based on actual or perceived gender, gender identity and gender discrimination. Unfortunately, the State Education Department has failed to provide schools with guidance on applying the law to transgender youth. As a result, communities large and small across the state have created their own ad-hoc policies – most of which are insufficient, illegal and deeply damaging to transgender and gender nonconforming youth. The NYCLU regularly receives requests for legal assistance from children and families across the state, and Dignity for All? is based on those stories, as well as analysis of harassment incidences reported under the Dignity Act by the state.
The NYCLU’s analysis of statewide data in Dignity for All? shows that incidents of harassment involving gender stereotypes (i.e., harassment related to a student’s sex, gender or sexual orientation) were the most commonly reported incidents of harassment in public schools. During the 2012-13 school year, New York schools reported 24,478 incidents of harassment under the Dignity Act, 19 percent of which were related to gender stereotypes.
“My daughter Sara* suffered so much bullying in ninth grade that she had an emotional breakdown over her safety. We have reported so many bullying incidents to the school -- but not a single one was recorded or investigated,” said Michele, mother of a transgender youth from the North Country region of New York who is featured in the report. “Her anxiety and depression now make it impossible for her to go to school. Families are struggling. Kids are struggling. We need support.”
Student stories in the report provide a snapshot of the damaging school climate that pushes transgender and gender nonconforming youth out of school across the state.
Despite the fact that gender transition for most young children involves no medical intervention, administrators routinely require burdensome medical or legal “proof” of a student’s gender identity or ask invasive and inappropriate questions. Gender nonconforming students are often targeted for “dress code violations” that can even lead to disciplinary action. Many transgender students also keep their status private – they have a constitutional right to do so – but schools as a matter of course “out” them to the classmates and staff by refusing them access to the appropriate bathrooms. Most students featured in this report were discouraged or outright prohibited from playing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity
“I wanted to be private about my transgender status, but my school wouldn’t even agree to call me ‘he’ or put my name on attendance sheets. It’s like I don’t belong in my own school. I had an anxiety attack and just broke down,” said Locke, an 18-year-old student from the Southern Tier region of Upstate New York. “I don’t have parents that back me up so I’m doing my best to advocate for myself, but I don’t know where to turn.”
Compounding these violations is the fact that in New York, many school staff members – even those trained according to the Dignity Act’s requirements – receive little to no guidance about how to set up a gender-inclusive learning environment. Transgender youth feel antagonized and avoid reporting incidents of harassment out of fear they will be labeled “troublemakers.” Schools in turn fail to provide a complete picture to the state: One-third of schools in New York State did not report any data whatsoever on harassment and discrimination for the 2012-13 school year.
Discrimination is harmful to all students, but for transgender students, it also undermines their full integration into society. National data links harassment in schools to sky-high rates of depression, unemployment and homelessness for transgender individuals. A staggering 41 percent of people who are transgender will attempt suicide at least once. Virtually all transgender students whose stories are featured in Dignity for All? have asked to leave school or have taken matters in their own hands by avoiding classes and disengaging from the school community.
“Our report documents what many have known for years: that discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression is pervasive in New York public schools and the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming students remain largely misunderstood by educators and administrators,” said NYCLU Lead Organizer Lauren Frederico, an author of the report. “Only clear and immediate action by the State Education Department will ensure the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming students are respected in all schools across the state.”
The NYCLU included in its report a model policy for school districts to follow to ensure that all students are respected and nurtured, regardless of their gender identity or expression. It also recommends the State Education Department take the following actions to ensure that all New York public schools know how to comply with state and federal law:
· Issue immediate guidance and training for all school staff.
Issue clear and immediate guidance outlining the responsibilities of all schools to respect the preferred names and gender pronouns of students, provide all students with access to restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity, provide private bathrooms and changing spaces to all students who desire additional privacy, and provide transgender students the same opportunities to participate in sports and physical education as other students.
Require mandatory and regular training for all adults working in schools – not just teachers – to ensure they understand the range of gender identities and expression and know what they can do to create a supportive environment for all students.
· Improve data collection and reporting.
Increase oversight to ensure all schools are in compliance with Dignity Act reporting requirements and revise the current Dignity Act reporting form to clarify what information must be captured. In addition, creating a shorter reporting period (currently, schools report incidents only once every school year) would assist in tracking and addressing ongoing violations.
· Ensure all schools have an accessible, confidential means of accepting complaints or reports of discrimination, harassment and bullying.
· Pass and enforce a Commissioner’s Regulation to ensure transgender and gender nonconforming youth have the same educational benefits and opportunities that all students are entitled to.
To read the full report, see photos and video of one of the students featured or to learn more about the ongoing advocacy visit:
*Most of the students featured in the report are referred to by pseudonyms to protect their privacy.
Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
President Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender YouthPresident Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate today passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth whose parents are active-duty military personnel. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposing final passage of the defense bill over the inclusion of this health care ban and calling on President Joe Biden to veto the bill. Section 708 of the NDAA would prohibit insurance coverage for “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria” such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, which Speaker Mike Johnson says would “permanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors.” The same treatments would be covered by TRICARE for any medical purpose other than treating gender dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis for the psychological distress experienced by transgender people related to their gender identity. “By passing this bill, the House and Senate are forcing thousands of active-duty service members to choose between their careers in the military and the future of their transgender children,” said Mike Zamore, national director of policy & government affairs at the ACLU. “This unconscionable and unjustifiable attack on those families stands in direct contrast to President Joe Biden’s legacy of defending the civil rights of transgender Americans — including when few in his own party showed the courage to do so. President Biden should cement his legacy by vetoing this bill and sending it back to Congress to pass without Speaker Johnson’s last minute health care ban for servicemembers’ kids.” If signed by President Biden, this health care ban would be the first new anti-LGBTQ provision enacted by Congress and signed into law by the president since the enactment of the military’s since-repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for LGBTQ servicemembers and the since-repealed federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages known as the Defense of Marriage Act. It is unknown how many transgender youth are currently enrolled in TRICARE or how many of those enrolled are currently receiving coverage for gender-affirming care. In one 2022 analysis, 2,500 minor patients sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE Prime insurance at military or civilian treatment facilities in 2017, and 900 received puberty suppressants or gender-affirming hormones. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case brought by the ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump on behalf of three families and a medical provider challenging a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming hormonal therapies for transgender youth on the grounds the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Montana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's LicensesMontana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. – A Montana court has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Montana from enforcing policies that bar transgender people from obtaining accurate sex designations on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses. After a prior restriction on amendments of birth certificates was struck down by the courts, in early 2024 the state of Montana enacted a new rule that categorically bars transgender Montanans from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. Around the same time, the Montana Department of Justice adopted a policy similarly restricting amendment of driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs challenged these policies in state district court, arguing that they violate various constitutional provisions, including the right to equal protection of the law. In a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, two justices concluded that discrimination on the basis of transgender status – as the state is engaging in here – is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Montana Constitution’s equal protection clause. The plaintiffs, two transgender women, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Plaintiff Jessica Kalarchik, a veteran who served in the United States Army for 31 years, said: “After finally being able to live my life openly as the woman I know myself to be, I am frustrated that my birth state, Montana, wants me to carry around a birth certificate that incorrectly lists my sex as male. I live my life openly as a woman, I am treated as a woman in my daily life, and there is no reason I should be forced to carry a birth certificate that incorrectly identifies me as male. Fortunately, the court agrees that this ridiculous policy should not be in effect.” “Once again the State of Montana chose to adopt a draconian policy that is clearly intended to marginalize transgender Montanans, only for that discriminatory action to be blocked by the courts,” said Akilah Deernose, executive director for the ACLU of Montana. “Here in Montana we treasure our right to privacy and to live our lives free from governmental intrusion. The State of Montana clearly has not learned any lessons from the past few years, where courts have repeatedly struck down unconstitutional laws targeting transgender Montanans.” “Forcing anyone to carry documents that contradict their identity unjustly violates their rights to privacy, equal treatment, and not being compelled to convey a government message about their sex that they disagree with,” said Malita Picasso, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Such a policy marks transgender people for further mistreatment and discrimination, essentially requiring them to carry papers that out them as transgender any time they need to provide identity documents. Fortunately, the court has refused to allow the state of Montana to subvert the freedom of transgender Montanans to control their own identity as this case goes forward.” In granting the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held, “[i]f the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate the basis of sex.” The state has the option of appealing the district court’s ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, but the underlying case will proceed in district court. A trial has not yet been scheduled. -
FloridaDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. DixonKeohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy. -
IdahoDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Robinson v. LabradorRobinson v. Labrador
Two incarcerated transgender women have sued the state of Idaho alleging that HB 688, a 2024 law barring state funding for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, denies them access to the health care their doctors have prescribed for them and is a violation of their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. They represent a class of all incarcerated folks within the state of Idaho who face the loss of hormone therapy due to HB 668.