Educators Must Accept Students Chosen Gender Identity, Leave Parents Out
By The Blaze. Educators in New Jersey must accept the declared gender identity of students and aren’t required to inform their parents of changes in gender identity, according to new rules issued by the New Jersey State Department of Education.
“It’s a big deal for transgender students in New Jersey,” Aaron Potenza, director of programs for Garden State Equality, an advocacy organization for lesbian, gay and transgender people, told USA Today. “This is probably the strongest guidance we’ve seen out of any state.”
State Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet told the news outlet that educators are obligated “to provide a safe and welcoming school environment so all students throughout the state can achieve their full potential.”
He said teachers and other personnel should have “open yet confidential discussions” with transgender students about their chosen name and privacy matters. (Read more from “Educators Must Accept Students Chosen Gender Identity, Leave Parents Out” HERE)
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New Jersey Issues New Guidelines for Schools on Transgender Students
By American School and University. The New Jersey Department of Education has issued new guidelines for how schools should follow a 2017 law that reinforces protections for transgender students, including a provision that expressly forbids districts from keeping students out of the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
NJ.com reports that the new rules also settle how schools should handle other hot-button issues, such as what name to call transgender students, whether birth names should be printed on school documents and how much schools should tell parents about student’s gender identity. . .
“New Jersey continues to stand with our LGBTQ community, and that includes the youngest and most vulnerable residents: our children,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says. (Read more from “New Jersey Issues New Guidelines for Schools on Transgender Students” HERE)
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