Chapter 7: Education and Students

• Author: Ally Windsor Howell
• Pages: 75-85

As stated early on, this book deals with adults who are transgender. In most

states, a student in college is an adult or a person of majority in any event.

See Appendix 1, “Age of Majority in Each State.” Thus, this chapter will

only deal with college-age students.

Whether as a matter of perceived legal obligation, or simply of institu-

tional policy, many colleges and universities should address the concerns of

transgender students. Many colleges and universities have, and some have

had for some time, antidiscrimination or nondiscrimination policies that

prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The best practice,

which many universities now follow, is to have gender identity and expres-

sion added as a category to those policies. Interestingly, 391 colleges and

universities have nondiscrimination policies that include gender identity

or expression according to the Transgendered Law and Policy Institute.1

The elephant in the room for colleges and universities in cases where sex

is an issue is Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.2 Logically, it

would seem to apply to transgender students’ complaints against colleges

1. Transgendered Law and Policy Institute, Colleges/Universities table, http://www.trans-

genderedlaw.org/college/index.htm#best (last visited July 28, 2011).

2. 20 U.S.C. § 1681.

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Education and Students

CHAPTER 7

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