By Nick Schonken
“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”
-Fred Rogers, host of “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood”
The topic of transgenderism is not one that most feel comfortable or willing to talk about. But, some have been open and active in fighting for change in a seemingly unchanging system.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found an overall
average of about 1.8% of high school students identify as
transgender. Although a small population, transgender students
are at disproportionately higher risk than cisgender students to
experience violence, victimization, substance use, and suicidal
risks.
Visalia Unified is beginning to take more steps in helping students who identify as transgender to make a safer school environment. With the student and parents’ permission, such a child can receive a name change through the school’s system.
Since the district is at the beginning stages of working with transgender students, the system isn’t perfect.
Staff Identification of Transgender Students
Mr. Salvador Cazarez-Santa Cruz, a US History and Constitutional Law teacher at Redwood High School, recalled an interaction with a VUSD staff member and a transgender student.
“I had a wonderful student that identified as ‘he’ and had made that transition. Under Power School, was a boy, is a boy. He forgot a folder in my class and I sent a T.A. (Teacher’s Assistant) and I said ‘this kid …he’s got this class right now. Go take it to him.’ T.A. went; came back 10 minutes later. ‘That teacher said that person’s not there. That there is no person like that. They said there’s this girl there that might be that.’ I was like, no. That’s a boy, and this is his name.”
When asked about whether the aforementioned student was mentioned as their preferred name in the school’s database, Cazarez said, “Yeah. That student was a student, that should have gotten the recognition they deserved because it was changed. In Power School, everything was moved over. If you checked power school, it said his name. It also said ‘M’ for ‘male,’ on his gender… You had to go to the depths of Power School to find not only the gender but the dead name.”
A term that the LGBTQ+ community uses is “deadnaming.” Deadnaming is using the former or birth name of a non-binary or transgender person without their permission. The act of deadnaming someone is seen as rejecting or dismissing a person’s gender identity and their chosen name that accompanies it.
According to Cazarez, this student’s teachers were notified in an email by admin, stating, “‘You have this student… Do not deadname. They have had panic attacks and have had mental health issues when deadnamed,’ and this teacher still referred to them as ‘female’ and by their deadname.”
While the name change system is something that VUSD offers, teachers and staff are not required to comply with the changed conditions.
What happens if a staff member doesn’t want to address the student the way they wish to be addressed?
Gabriel Luna, Redwood’s psychologist, says, “Most times, we do our best to have conversations with that individual or staff member in terms of having a better understanding of where that student is coming from. We can’t force people to change the way that they think. Every person has their right to think how they want to think. So, more than likely, our counselors and administration [are] probably looking [to] rather than change the way somebody thinks… they are going to provide that individual with access to a teacher who is more likely to work with that individual student.”
Leaf Boswell, ’23, who is a Female to Male/Female to Non-binary (FTM/FTN) student, says, “I feel misgendering needs to be taken more seriously. From personal experience, trans kids don’t correct the person who misgendered them. It’s terrifying to tell someone they are wrong, even if it’s something as simple as, ‘It’s sir nor ma’am,’ because there is always this fear of being denied.”
A study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that cases of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior were at their lowest when the examined youth were called by their chosen names.
School Facilities and Transgender Youth
According to California’s AB 1266, California public schools must permit a pupil to use facilities (i.e., bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.) consistent with their gender identity.
In VUSD, getting these benefits requires the student to out themselves to at least an admin and possibly multiple admins/staff members.
At Redwood High School, there are 2 gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. One is on the Main Campus, located in the nurse’s office. The other bathroom is located on the Sierra Vista campus near the South Dollner Street entrance and the Campus Supervisor’s office.
When school is in session, Sierra Vista’s gender-neutral bathroom is locked. It has been locked due to a vaping problem in the bathrooms at Redwood.
According to Boswell, the dilemma is that “students who are more closeted …would love to use that bathroom, but don’t have the courage to ask for permission. Even if the staff would allow us to use that bathroom.”
With the gender-neutral bathroom problem on the Sierra Vista Campus, the only other option is to either go to the bathroom on main, in the nurse’s office, or not go to the restroom at all.
The Atmosphere
The problems with transgender youth and school are not all physical. A non-inclusive atmosphere also negatively affects transgender youths.
As of right now, VUSD has some trainings ascertaining to LGBTQ+ youth and staff.
Treatment of some students towards the LGBTQ+ community can cause discomfort or mental distress among these youth. Some examples of this include, but are not limited to, the casual use of words such as the f-slur among non-LGBTQ+ youth.
Derogatory terms such as the aforementioned one have been in the process of being reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community. But even though such a process is underway, this does not give students the right to say this word due to the negative connotation and lasting effects it can have on students and their perception of school, others, and themselves.
Students, teachers, and the school district need to create a more inclusive environment for its LGBTQ+ students to make school safe for everyone.
Student Voice
On Wednesday, October 18th, 1,016 Redwood students answered the question, “Do you feel you have a voice on campus.”
Jackson Marquez, ’23, says, “I feel that the [student voice] does need to be heard more” and that “if the student voices were truly heard, Redwood and the school district would become a safer place for everyone.”
Marquez also went on to say that “there are some that do struggle with (not being heard) a lot and it’s never a good thing to have students that don’t even feel comfortable on and off campus. Most of the time this only occurs because of a lack of information on these minorities. If we continue to push morals and values in schools to protect these minorities, yes things will definitely change.”
Work Cited
Johns MM, Lowry R, Andrzejewski J, et al. Transgender Identity and Experiences of Violence Victimization, Substance Use, Suicide Risk, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among High School Students — 19 States and Large Urban School Districts, 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019;68:67–71. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6803a3external icon.
“What Does LGBTQ+ Mean?” OK2BME.Ca, ok2bme.ca/resources/kids-teens/what-does-lgbtq-mean.
AH;, Russell ST;Pollitt AM;Li G;Grossman. “Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth.” The Journal of Adolescent Health : Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Mar. 2018, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29609917/.
California Legislative Information. leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1266.
“The Value of Inclusive Education.” Open Society Foundations, www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/value-inclusive-education.
Tags: LGBTQ+, Nick Schonken, Redwood, redwood gigantea, student voice, students, trans, Transgender, vusd