Challenges facing LGBTQ youth

• Author: Amanda Maze-Schultz
• Pages: 417-477

CHALLENGES FACING LGBTQ YOUTH

EDITED BY AMANDA MAZE-SCHULTZ

I. INTRODUCTION ... ....................................... 418

II. CHALLENGES IN SCHOOLS .................................. 419

A. OVERVIEW OF FEDERAL AND STATE PROTECTIONS ............. 419

1. Federal Constitutional Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

a. Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection . . . . . . . . . 420

i. Gender Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

ii. Liability . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

b. First Amendment Retaliation . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

2. Federal Statutory Law: Title IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

a. Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Students . . . . .. . . . . . . . 425

b. Transgender Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

c. Liability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

3. State Law . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

B. TRANSITIONING IN SCHOOLS ............................ 432

1. Required Documentation of Transition . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

2. Schools’ Duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

a. Names and Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

b. Access to Sex-Segregated Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

c. Participation in Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

C. SEX EDUCATION .................................... 442

D. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND ASSOCIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

1. Student Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

2. Students’ Apparel and Appearance . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 446

3. Access to Information on the Internet . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 447

4. Faculty and Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

E. BULLYING, HARASSMENT, AND VIOLENCE . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

1. Bullying and Harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

2. Suicides and Murders .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

F. STUDENT PRIVACY AND LEGAL RECOURSE FOR “OUTING” BY

SCHOOL OFFICIALS .................................. 454

III. CHALLENGES FACING FAMILIES OF LGBTQ YOUTH ............... 454

A. CONVERSION THERAPY ................................ 454

1. Consumer Fraud . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

2. Bans Based on Psychological Harm to Minors . . . . . . . . . 457

B. CHILD CUSTODY ISSUES FOR LGBTQ-AFFIRMING PARENTS ...... 459

C. HOMELESSNESS AMONG LGBTQ YOUTH AND RELATED ISSUES . . . 461

1. Primary Causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

2. LGBTQ Youth-Specific Difficulties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

3. Proposed Legal Solutions . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

417

a. Emancipation and Child Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

b. Foster Care Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

c. Prevention of Discrimination in Emergency Shelters

and Permanent Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

D. ACCESS TO MEDICAL TREATMENT ........................ 466

1. Hormone Replacement Therapy and Gender Affirmation

Surgeries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

2. Legal Advances in Response to the Medicaid Coverage

Ban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

IV. CHALLENGES FACING LGBTQ YOUTH IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM 469

A. THE PREVALENCE OF LGBTQ YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 469

B. HARASSMENT AND ABUSE OF LGBTQ YOUTH ............... 469

C. PROBLEMS SPECIFIC TO TRANSGENDER YOUTH ............... 470

1. Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

2. Access to Medical Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471

D. HOW COURTS RESOLVE ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE ............. 472

V. CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS PERTAINING TO LGBTQ YOUTH .......... 473

A. THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT AND THE

STUDENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT ...................... 473

B. THE EQUALITY ACT . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

C. THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES’

REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING SECTION 1557 OF THE AFFORDABLE

CARE ACT ........................................ 475

D. TRANSGENDER ACCESS TO PUBLIC FACILITIES AND RESTROOMS . .. . 475

VI. CONCLUSION ........................................... 476

I. INTRODUCTION

This Article discusses the myriad challenges lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen-

der, and questioning

1

In this Article, the term “transgender” youth, unless otherwise stated, refers to youth who have

already begun transitioning, youth who have already transitioned and now identify as a gender other

than the one they were assigned at birth, and youth who may view themselves, and/or may be viewed by

others, as not conforming to traditional gender norms for the gender they were assigned at birth. For a

history of transgenderism in society, see Blaise Vanderhorst, Whither Lies the Self: Intersex and

Transgender Individuals and A Proposal for Brain-Based Legal Sex, 9 HARV. L. & POL’Y REV. 241,

246–55 (2015). Cisgender is the adjective this Article will use to denote someone whose sense of

identity corresponds with the sex assigned to them at birth. See Cisgender, OXFORD ENGLISH

DICTIONARY, https://perma.cc/CP2U-M5HX (last visited Feb. 25, 2023).

(LGBTQ) youth face in the United States (U.S.). The

Article focuses on issues LGBTQ youth confront in school as well as the issues

faced by families with LGBTQ children, including increased risk of violence,

abuse, housing instability, and inadequate access to appropriate medical care.

The Article also examines and summarizes legal protections for LGBTQ youth at

the federal and state levels.

1.

418 THE GEORGETOWN JOURNAL OF GENDER AND THE LAW [Vol. 24:417

II. CHALLENGES IN SCHOOLS

A. OVERVIEW OF FEDERAL AND STATE PROTECTIONS

Since the turn of the twentieth century, public education has grown in im-

portance across the U.S. Today, every state constitution contains an educa-

tion provision.

2

2. ALA. CONST. art. XIV, § 256 (West, Westlaw through June 10, 2022); ALASKA CONST. art. VII, § 1

(West, Westlaw through amendments received through the 2022 2nd Reg. Sess. of the 32nd Leg.); ARIZ.

CONST. art. XI, § 1 (West, Westlaw through the 2nd Reg. Sess. of the 55th Leg. (2022)); ARK. CONST.

art. XIV, § 1, amended by ARK. CONST. amend. 53 (West, Westlaw through acts of the 2023 Reg. Sess.

of the 94th Ark. Gen. Assemb. effective Feb. 13, 2023); CAL. CONST. art. IX, § 1 (West, Westlaw

through Ch. 997 of 2022 Reg. Sess.); COLO. CONST. art. IX, § 2 (West, Westlaw through amendments

adopted through the Nov. 8, 2022 Election); CONN. CONST. art. VIII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through Gen.

Stat. of Conn., Revision of 1958, Revised to Jan. 1, 2023); DEL. CONST. art. X, § 1 (West, Westlaw

through Ch. 5 of the 152nd Gen. Assemb. (2023–2024)); FLA. CONST. art. IX, § 1 (amended 1998)

(West, Westlaw through the Nov. 3, 2020, Gen. Election); GA. CONST. art. VIII, § 1, ¶ 1 (West, Westlaw

through legislation passed at the 2022 Reg. Sess. of the Ga. Gen. Assemb.); HAW. CONST. art. X, § 1

(West, Westlaw through the end of the 2022 Reg. Sess.); IDAHO CONST. art. IX, § 1 (West, Westlaw

through effective legislation through Ch. 1 of 1st Reg. Sess. of the 67th Idaho Leg.); ILL. CONST. art. X,

§ 1 (West, Westlaw through Oct. 1, 2021); IND. CONST. art. VIII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through all

legislation of the 2022 2nd Reg. Sess., the 2nd Reg. Technical Sess., & the 2nd Reg. Spec. Sess. of the

122nd Gen. Assemb. effective through Sept. 15, 2022); IOWA CONST. art. IX, 2nd, § 3 (West, Westlaw

through legislation effective Feb. 16, 2023 from the 2023 Reg. Sess.); KAN. CONST. art. VI, § 1 (West,

Westlaw through laws enacted during the 2022 Reg. Sess. of the Kan. Leg. effective on July 1, 2022);

KY. CONST. § 183 (West, Westlaw through laws effective Jan. 6, 2023 and the Nov. 8, 2022 Election);

LA. CONST. art. VIII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through amendments through Jan. 1, 2023); ME. CONST. art.

VIII, part 1, § 1 (West, Westlaw through emergency legislation through Ch. 2 of the 2023 1st Reg. Sess.

of the 131st Leg.); MD. CONST. art. VIII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through all legislation from the 2022 Reg.

Sess. of the Gen. Assemb.); MASS. CONST. pt. 2, Ch. V, § 2 (West, Westlaw through amendments

approved Feb. 1, 2022); MICH. CONST. Ch. 1, art. VIII, § 2 (West, Westlaw through amendments

approved through the Nov. 2022 Gen. Election); MINN. CONST. art. XIII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through

legislation effective through Feb. 8, 2023 from the 2023 Reg. Sess.); MISS. CONST. art. VIII, § 201

(West, Westlaw through laws from the 2022 Reg. Sess. effective through July 1, 2022); MO. CONST. art.

IX, § 1, cl. a (West, Westlaw through the 2022 2nd Reg. and 1st Extra. Sess. of the 101st Gen. Assemb.);

MONT. CONST. art. X, § 1 (West, Westlaw through the 2021 Sess. of the Mont. Leg.); NEB. CONST. art.

VII, § 1 (amended 1972) (West, Westlaw through the 2nd Reg. Sess. of the 107th Leg. (2022)); NEV.

CONST. art. XI, § 2 (amended 1938) (West, Westlaw through Ch. 2 (End) of the 33rd Spec. Sess.

(2021)); N.H. CONST. pt. 2, art. 83 (West, Westlaw through Ch. 1 of the 2023 Reg. Sess.); N.J. CONST.

art. VIII, § 4, ¶. 1 (West, Westlaw through amendments approved at Nov. 3, 2020 Election); N.M.

CONST. art. XII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through the Nov. 2020 Gen. Election); N.Y. CONST. art. XI, § 1

(amended 2001) (West, Westlaw through L. 2022, Chs. 1 to 841); N.C. CONST. art. IX, § 2 (West,

Westlaw through S.L. 2022-75 of the 2022 Reg. Sess. of the Gen. Assemb.); N.D. CONST. art. VIII, § 1

(West, Westlaw through results of the Nov. 3, 2020 Gen. Election); OHIO CONST. art. VI, § 3 (West,

Westlaw through File 177 (End) of the 134th Gen. Assemb. (2021–2022) & 2022 Statewide Issue 1 &

2022 Statewide Issue 2); OKLA. CONST. art. XIII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through amendments received

through June 30, 2020); OR. CONST. art. VIII, § 3 (West, Westlaw through laws enacted in the 2022 Reg.

Sess. of the 81st Leg. Assemb.); PA. CONST. art. III, § 14 (amended 1967) (West, Westlaw through Nov.

8, 2022, Gen. Election); R.I. CONST. art. XII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through effective legislation through

Ch. 442 of the 2022 Reg. Sess. of the R.I. Leg.); S.C. CONST. art. XI, § 3 (West, Westlaw through 2022

Act No. 268); S.D. CONST. art. VIII, § 1 (West, Westlaw through the 2022 Gen. Election); TENN. CONST.

art. XI, § 12 (amended 1977) (West, Westlaw through laws from the 2022 2nd Reg. Sess. of the 112th

2023] CHALLENGES FACING LGBTQ YOUTH 419