Lozano Smith Attorney Featured in Cabinet Report Article
January 23, 2014
Caution urged as politics plays out on transgender law
by Kimberly Beltran
(Calif.) While fate of a new state law extending protections for transgendered students remains uncertain, school response has been varied - some adopting policies incorporating the law, some not.
But legal experts have in recent weeks advised school administrators to set their own anti-discriminatory protocols for handling gender identity questions - balancing both the civil rights and needs of transgender students with the privacy of all students.
"Current law already contains specific provisions applicable to transgender students, and current practices and policies should comply with those provisions," explained attorney Benjamin C. Rosenbaum of Lozano Smith, an education and public agency law firm.
AB 1266, authored by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, was signed into law last fall by Gov. Jerry Brown. The law, which was to have taken effect Jan. 1, amends existing California education law to require schools to allow a student to participate in sex-segregated school programs and use facilities consistent with the student's gender identity, regardless of their biological sex.
But opponents of the law hoping to place a referendum on the November ballot have submitted some 620,000 voter signatures to the state's election department, which has until Feb. 24 to verify as valid 504,760 of those - the number needed to place the measure before voters.
In a written brief to its many K-12 clients, Lozano Smith advises districts to seek guidance on transgender issues "on a case-by-case" basis, and says those wanting to be more proactive could consider developing related policy - weighing options carefully, however, prior to adoption.
"Districts should not conclude that the referendum provides a vehicle to deny any rights afforded to transgender students under current law," said Rosenbaum. "Districts should review their bullying, antidiscrimination, and discipline policies to ensure that they are up-to-date with current state and federal law."
He also noted that California high schools should be prepared to comply with updated California Interscholastic Federation bylaws allowing students to compete in sports according to their gender identity.
The California School Boards Association also recommends that districts handle requests or concerns around privacy issues, facility use or participation on sports teams on a case-by-case basis "so that the unique needs of each student can be met," according to an interim guidance document issued last fall.
Attempts should be made by school officials to meet with the student and, if appropriate, the student's family to discuss the issue of privacy as well as other student needs, CSBA guidance says.
The association also offers suggestions for dealing with specific situations, such as allowing all students to use the facilities that are consistent with their gender identity, providing alternative facilities for all students who need or desire privacy, and training and preparing staff to address and refer to a transgender student by the student's preferred name and pronoun.
While some districts, prior to the passage of AB 1266, had adopted policies specifically addressing the rights of transgender students, others responded to the bill in various ways, said Lozano Smith's Rosenbaum.
Some districts used the passage of AB 1266 as an opportunity to assess and update general bullying and antidiscrimination policies that already contain protections for transgender students; other districts decided to adopt new policies dealing with transgender students specifically, and still other districts are not adopting policies pending the outcome of the referendum.
Last October, the board of trustees at Chino Valley Unified adopted a resolution opposing AB 1266. The resolution reads that while the district already allows students, regardless of sex, to participate in sex-segregated athletic teams and competitions, "there is grave concern about the portion of the law which would add: 'and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records.'"
Sacramento City Unified School District chose to create and adopt a new policy specific to the needs of transgender students to ensure that they are treated consistently and fairly throughout the district, spokesman Gabe Ross said.
"Our board felt, regardless of what happens at the state level, that this was an important policy to ratify in our district, so that all students are protected," Ross said.
The policy formalized what was already happening at the district's school sites, said Ross, which was staff working with families and students to make sure their needs were being met in healthy and safe ways.
The formal policy, he noted, serves to support and guide school site administrators in dealing with any challenges that may come about.
"When these difficult issues arise, and they do from time to time and they're challenging for site leadership to discuss, we wanted to be able to provide some guiding policy for sites so that they're supported in making decisions in the best interests of kids," Ross said.
According to a summary of Sac City Unified's policy, the district's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Support Services program has provided services to more than 250 students and families since 2011. Of these, it stated, a large percentage have been transgender and gender-variant students facing issues that the district did not have clear policies to address.
The article can be found here.
Caution urged as politics plays out on transgender law
by Kimberly Beltran
(Calif.) While fate of a new state law extending protections for transgendered students remains uncertain, school response has been varied - some adopting policies incorporating the law, some not.
But legal experts have in recent weeks advised school administrators to set their own anti-discriminatory protocols for handling gender identity questions - balancing both the civil rights and needs of transgender students with the privacy of all students.
"Current law already contains specific provisions applicable to transgender students, and current practices and policies should comply with those provisions," explained attorney Benjamin C. Rosenbaum of Lozano Smith, an education and public agency law firm.
AB 1266, authored by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, was signed into law last fall by Gov. Jerry Brown. The law, which was to have taken effect Jan. 1, amends existing California education law to require schools to allow a student to participate in sex-segregated school programs and use facilities consistent with the student's gender identity, regardless of their biological sex.
But opponents of the law hoping to place a referendum on the November ballot have submitted some 620,000 voter signatures to the state's election department, which has until Feb. 24 to verify as valid 504,760 of those - the number needed to place the measure before voters.
In a written brief to its many K-12 clients, Lozano Smith advises districts to seek guidance on transgender issues "on a case-by-case" basis, and says those wanting to be more proactive could consider developing related policy - weighing options carefully, however, prior to adoption.
"Districts should not conclude that the referendum provides a vehicle to deny any rights afforded to transgender students under current law," said Rosenbaum. "Districts should review their bullying, antidiscrimination, and discipline policies to ensure that they are up-to-date with current state and federal law."
He also noted that California high schools should be prepared to comply with updated California Interscholastic Federation bylaws allowing students to compete in sports according to their gender identity.
The California School Boards Association also recommends that districts handle requests or concerns around privacy issues, facility use or participation on sports teams on a case-by-case basis "so that the unique needs of each student can be met," according to an interim guidance document issued last fall.
Attempts should be made by school officials to meet with the student and, if appropriate, the student's family to discuss the issue of privacy as well as other student needs, CSBA guidance says.
The association also offers suggestions for dealing with specific situations, such as allowing all students to use the facilities that are consistent with their gender identity, providing alternative facilities for all students who need or desire privacy, and training and preparing staff to address and refer to a transgender student by the student's preferred name and pronoun.
While some districts, prior to the passage of AB 1266, had adopted policies specifically addressing the rights of transgender students, others responded to the bill in various ways, said Lozano Smith's Rosenbaum.
Some districts used the passage of AB 1266 as an opportunity to assess and update general bullying and antidiscrimination policies that already contain protections for transgender students; other districts decided to adopt new policies dealing with transgender students specifically, and still other districts are not adopting policies pending the outcome of the referendum.
Last October, the board of trustees at Chino Valley Unified adopted a resolution opposing AB 1266. The resolution reads that while the district already allows students, regardless of sex, to participate in sex-segregated athletic teams and competitions, "there is grave concern about the portion of the law which would add: 'and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records.'"
Sacramento City Unified School District chose to create and adopt a new policy specific to the needs of transgender students to ensure that they are treated consistently and fairly throughout the district, spokesman Gabe Ross said.
"Our board felt, regardless of what happens at the state level, that this was an important policy to ratify in our district, so that all students are protected," Ross said.
The policy formalized what was already happening at the district's school sites, said Ross, which was staff working with families and students to make sure their needs were being met in healthy and safe ways.
The formal policy, he noted, serves to support and guide school site administrators in dealing with any challenges that may come about.
"When these difficult issues arise, and they do from time to time and they're challenging for site leadership to discuss, we wanted to be able to provide some guiding policy for sites so that they're supported in making decisions in the best interests of kids," Ross said.
According to a summary of Sac City Unified's policy, the district's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Support Services program has provided services to more than 250 students and families since 2011. Of these, it stated, a large percentage have been transgender and gender-variant students facing issues that the district did not have clear policies to address.
The article can be found here.