Hi John,

The return to school has been top of mind for me as a queer parent of a 7-year-old. School should be a space where all youth feel safe to learn, grow, and be in community. Yet young people - particularly transgender youth - are going back to school across the country and entering actively hostile environments.

Here are some of the policies that have been enacted in one or more states that alienate LGBTQ+ youth in schools:

Trans school athlete bans
Trans school bathroom bans
Laws to allow the deliberate and persistent misgendering and/or deadnaming of trans students
Book bans of books touching on topics of race and LGBTQ+ identity
Restrictions on sex education
Restrictions on teaching accurate portrayals of history
Restrictions on teaching on topics of race and LGBTQ+ identity
Restrictions on mentioning LGBTQ+ identities in the classroom
Restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion training for teachers and school staff
Forced outing to parents of transgender students by school staff
Dismantling of anti-bullying policies
Restrictions on collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity in surveys like the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey

These policies hurt students of all genders and sexual orientations.

Even in states where an anti-transgender bill has been defeated or is in court, institutions are acting as if it is law. For example, the North Dakota High School Activities Association has banned trans girls from participating in sports even though the governor vetoed the state’s anti-trans sports bill last year.

It is urgent we assert trans youth belong in school. No matter where you live, there's one thing you can do to support trans youth today:

Submit a public comment to the U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education is suggesting a rule change that would amend Title IX’s nondiscrimination mandate to include all schools that receive federal funding. We support this change, which would go a long way to supporting LGBTQ+ students at school. Anti-LGBTQ+ operatives are organizing to flood public comments rejecting this change.

We need you to leave a comment by September 12 in support of this rule change and efforts to reduce discrimination in all schools that receive taxpayer funding.

To leave a comment, please go to this link and write a message. If you feel overwhelmed or too busy to write something personal, you can simply say, “I support the rule change and recommend its implementation.”

If you want more guidance on what to say, check out this guide from Montana Human Rights Network, one of our state partners.