Welcome Back to School 2016: Your Rights

By Elizabeth Fuchs

August 30, 2016

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Welcome Back to School! This time of year can be a very exciting time for many students. For many LGBTQ students, the start of the school year brings mixed emotions, including fear. In 2016, there were five anti-transgender bathroom bills. PROMO’s mission is not youth or school focused. Our priority is in our state’s Capital and occasionally at the National level too. What happens in Jefferson City guides the daily work at PROMO. Therefore, given the current school policy climate, we feel it is within our mission to provide guidance for parents, students, and teachers when it comes to their rights as a Missourian. Ultimately, we want Missouri parents and students to feel the full support of every LGBTQ person, ally, and organization in this state and to have the resources to advocate for yourself or the child in your care. You may feel lonely in your experiences, but you are not alone.

Over the last six months, we have received many requests for support around schools and gendered spaces within them. Parents are concerned for their children. Teachers and administrators are confused as to the legality of the issues. School nurses and social workers are trying to understand policies that will impact the children and young adults they encounter on a daily basis. People reach out to us, because they don’t know what to do. The President issued guidance for schools that was supported and reinforced by the US Departments of Education and Justice. If you, your child, or the child in your care are gender non-conforming or transgender and are a student at school or university that accepts public funding you have rights. Did you know that?

You have the right to use the bathroom or locker room that matches your gender identity. You have the right to be referred to by the pronouns of your choosing and the name that best reflects your identity. You have the right to dress in a manner that reflects your gender identity. You have the right to experience all of these things free of harassment and violence. You have rights. What happens when those rights are violated or denied? Please contact PROMO or the ACLU of Missouri, and we will help you investigate the next steps.

If you have issues at school and want to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights click here.

Here is a list of resources that may help you. Not all people are created the same. Please find the resource that works best for you, and if you know of any resources not listed here please email me at elizabeth@promoonline.org.