Education and Students
Author | Ally Windsor Howell |
Profession | Former practicing lawyer from Alabama |
Pages | 83-98 |
As stated early on, this book deals with adults who are transgender. However,
this chapter deals with minors as well as adults.
The U.S. Department of Justice under Attorney General Eric Holder
and the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Arne Duncan and
President Barack Obama have interpreted Title IV of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964(1) and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
1
to cover
transgender students. In doing so, they have pursued cases involving the
harassment of and discrimination against transgender students and made
remarkable progress. The following are a sampling of the cases that they
have pursued and achieved settlements that helped ensure equal rights for
transgender students and eliminate the harassment of transgender students.
•
A consent decree was reached with the Anoka-Hennepin School District
in Minnesota resolving complaints of sex-based harassment of middle
and high school students in the school district. In November 2010, the
Department of Justice received a complaint alleging that students in
the school district were being harassed by other students because they
didn’t dress or act in ways that conform to gender stereotypes. The
1. 20 U.S.C.A. § 1681.
83
Education and Students
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Departments of Justice and Education conducted an extensive investiga-
tion into sex-based harassment in the district’s middle and high schools.
Many students reported that the unsafe and unwelcoming school climate
inhibited their ability to learn. The parties worked collaboratively to
draft a consent decree addressing and resolving the allegations in the
complaints. The consent decree ensures that the school district
1.
Retains an expert consultant in the area of sex-based harassment to
review the district’s policies and procedures concerning harassment;
2.
Develops and implements a comprehensive plan for preventing and
addressing student-on-student sex-based harassment at the middle
and high schools;
3.
Enhances and improves its training of faculty, staff, and students
on sex-based harassment;
4.
Hires or appoints a Title IX coordinator to ensure proper implemen-
tation of the district’s sex-based harassment policies and procedures
and district compliance with Title IX;
5.
Retains an expert consultant in the area of mental health to address
the needs of students who are victims of harassment;
6.
Provides for other opportunities for student involvement and input
into the district’s ongoing anti-harassment efforts;
7. Improves its system for maintaining records of investigations and
responding to allegations of harassment;
8.
Conducts ongoing monitoring and evaluations of its anti-harass-
ment efforts; and
9. Submits annual compliance reports to the departments.2
•
The Tehachapi Uni ed School District in Tehachapi, California agreed to
resolve an investigation into the harassment of a middle school student
based on his nonconformity with gender stereotypes. Title IV of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964
3
and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
4
2. U.S. Dept. of Justice (March 5, 2012) Departments of Justice and Education Resolve
Harassment Allegations in Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota, http://www.justice.
gov/opa/pr/2012/March/12-crt-286.html (last visited on June 24, 2014).
3. 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000c,et seq.
4. 20 U.S.C.A. § 1681.
TRANSGENDER PERSONS AND THE LAW 84
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