Beyond the bathroom: Report shows laws' harm for transgender students

It is not just about the bathroom.

Singling out transgender students to use certain restrooms sends a signal that they aren’t valued in the public education system — and can cause devastating physical and psychological harm, a report out Tuesday says.

“It’s a rejection of who they are in the most core way,” said Naomi Goldberg, policy director for the Movement Advancement Project and co-author of the report, which lands amid a contentious debate over LGBT rights and bathroom bills.

In February, the Justice and Education departments reversed guidance the Obama administration had issued that said Title IX protected the rights of transgender students to use facilities that match their gender identity. In March, the Supreme Court removed from its calendar the case of high school senior Gavin Grimm, who is battling for the right to use the restroom that matches his gender ID.

And two weeks ago, North Carolina lawmakers announced a deal to repeal the state’s controversial and costly bathroom bill, but critics say the law that replaced it still engenders discrimination.

The report shows the breadth of an issue threading through the country and the potential implications for the estimated 0.7% of youths 13-17 — or 150,000 — who identify as transgender in the U.S., according to a January study by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. “When we think about it, barring transgender students from bathrooms is barring them from school,” report co-author Alex Sheldon said.

The report, “Separation and Stigma: Transgender Youth & School Facilities,” was produced by MAP, a think tank that researches LGBT issues, and GLSEN, an education organization targeting LGBT bias in schools. It reveals stark numbers:

• 75% of transgender students feel unsafe at school and were more likely to experience verbal and physical harassment and assault than their peers.

• 70% of transgender students said they avoided bathrooms because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

• 60% of transgender students were forced to use a bathroom or locker room that did not match their gender.

• 50% of transgender students were unable to use the name or pronoun that matched their gender.

When kids start restricting their fluid and food intake to avoid using a restroom, a host of physical issues such as urinary tract infections and kidney-related problems can ensue, Goldberg said. Emotional and psychological fallout such as depression also can cut deep. The message that comes across from schools: “We don’t recognize you and who you are,” Goldberg said.

And ultimately GPAs plummet, students lose a desire to pursue higher education — and many start skipping class, she said.

“How are you supposed to be able to focus on learning, which is why they are there,” she said. “People think ‘it’s just a bathroom,’ but there’s a disconnect. The issues are so much broader.”

Sen. Dan Bishop, a GOP member of North Carolina’s General Assembly, sees things differently. Bishop sponsored the state’s original HB2 law that required individuals to use facilities corresponding with the gender on their birth certificate and led to months of upheaval, boycotts and lawsuits.

“HB2 was necessary because a city's identity politics purported to confer new status on some people while trampling on established rights of others, such as privacy,” he said. “Much better not to unnecessarily set people against one another.”

Read more:

North Carolina governor signs measure to roll back 'bathroom bill'

Trump administration changes transgender student bathroom rules

As concerns mount over LGBT rights, study shows lack of protections

A FACE ON THE ISSUE

Drew Adams, a thoughtful 16-year-old from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., knows first-hand the trials of being a transgender teen.

Drew, who assumed he was just a tomboy growing up, struggled with depression and anxiety as a child and “didn’t know why.”

When he was in the eighth grade he had an epiphany while watching The Ellen Show and DeGeneres was interviewing a transgender guest. “I looked at him and I said ‘hey that’s me!”

Suddenly, Drew’s world made sense. His family was “100% supportive” as he came out, he said, and the darkness soon lifted. “I am fantastic now, better than I have ever felt,” he said.

But as comfortable as he was in his own skin, Drew soon encountered his own bathroom battle at school. After coming out, he used the men’s room for two months with no problems — until he was called into the guidance office and told no more.  “Someone had complained,” he said.

Drew, now a sophomore, has to use one of three gender-neutral bathrooms at the school — which can be inconvenient and disruptive. He recalls feeling annoyed at first, “then I discovered it was happening to other people; it’s a civil rights issue,” he said.

“All I do is go in, then I wash my hands and leave,” he said. “Nothing was wrong except me being me.”

His family filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which found the school district in violation of Title IX. But the Trump administration’s recent actions changed everything.

“It was pretty heartbreaking. A year and a half of work down the drain,” he said. “When I filed the complaint I thought the administration, the government would be fighting with me. Now I’m fighting against the government.”

Drew says if he ever had a chance to meet President Trump he would have a lot to say. “I would introduce myself, I would have a conversation, and then I’d say: ‘By the way, I’m trans and you just took away my rights.’”

NEW BILLS ON THE HORIZON

No matter what, Drew, said he will press on. “I want to be a voice for voices quieted” by suicide, bullying and harassment, he said. “I just want to help.”

Activists like Drew will have their work cut out for them. So far in 2017, 17 states have introduced legislation targeting transgender students' bathroom access, Sheldon said.

For example, a Minnesota bill uses these definitions of sex: "the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined by a person’s chromosomes and is identified at birth by a person’s anatomy.”

Many of the bills override inclusive policies and protections already enacted by school districts — and that’s a key point, Sheldon said. School administrators from districts in 31 states and Washington, D.C., submitted a brief in the Gavin Grimm case stating their experience shows fears around trans students using bathrooms of their gender ID are unfounded.

The report also notes that 13 states and D.C. have explicit laws on the books prohibiting discrimination in education based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

“It points to school districts taking up the issue and using their own policies to protect transgender and other students,” Sheldon said. “It shows they have had success.”

As part of the release of the study, MAP and its partners, which include the National Education Association, have sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, urging her to read the report and ensure protections for all students, including those who are transgender.

Goldberg sees a “growing recognition” that if the federal government won’t protect transgender kids, “states and communities will.”

Teen activist Drew has hope as well: “Change is possible, even with this administration.”

Follow Miller on Twitter @susmiller