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.

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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.

TRA NSGENDE R PERSONS A ND TH E LAW 84

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