California Bill May Allow Students Equal Access Based on Gender Identity

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California is considering a bill that would allow transgender students equal access to student facilities and programs that correlate with their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

The Senate Education Committee approved AB 1266 last week with the intention of allowing transgender students access to facilities and programs, such as locker rooms and sports teams, which are divided by gender. Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, introduced the bill.

“No student can learn if they feel they have to hide who they are in school,” Ammiano said to the committee.

The bill would “require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

A similar policy was implemented in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in 2004. According to Judy Chiasson, program coordinator at LAUSD’s Office of Human Relations Diversity & Equity, since implementing the policy, LAUSD has created a safer environment in which students can place more focus on their school work versus fear of being stigmatized by everyday choices.

“They feel safer they feel more affirmed they don’t worry about having to navigate gender in that way,” Chiasson said. “Students start to see school as a safe place where they’re affirmed, rather than a dangerous place where they’re marginalized.”

Chiasson testified at the committee hearing and stated that since implementation, there has not been a single issue with a transgender student in LAUSD. All students, for any reason, are also invited to use private facilities.

No costs or renovations were required in implementing the policy.

Some parents, though many from out of state or out of the district, have voiced concerns with the policy to allow transgender students equal access to school facilities and programs, Chiasson said.

“In philosophy, it can be concerning that our fears are going to help us conjure up really frightening images,” Chiasson said.
There are often fears that sexual predators will take advantage of the policy, Chiasson said. However, in the nearly 10 years since the district took on the polity, none of those fears have materialized.

“They’re worried about it in philosophy,” Chiasson said. “But they never have a complaint when it’s put into practice.”

Chiasson considers unequal access to sex-segregated facilities and programs for transgender students a barrier to education. And though there may be fears, California legislators should keep the best interest of students at heart.

“Everybody needs to behave appropriately and responsibly in these settings,” she said. “But we can’t let our discomfort stand in the way of doing the right thing for children.”