Gender Issues: Creating a Safe Environment for All Students

1. CREATING A SAFE
ENVIRONMENT
FOR ALL STUDENTS
GENDER ISSUES

2. Disclaimer
Lawyers

3. Defining Transgender

4. Key Definitions
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National Center for Transgender Equality

5. Key Definitions
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Transgender
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Transgender Man
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Transgender Woman
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Gender Identity
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Gender Expression

6. CCR Definition
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The California Code of Regulations defines “gender”
as: “a person's actual sex or perceived sex and
includes a person's perceived identity, appearance or
behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance,
or behavior is different from that traditionally
associated with a person's sex at birth.”
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5 CCR Section 4910(k)

7. Social Pulse on Gender Issues

10. Gender Issues and Bullying in Schools Broadly

17. What Is “Cyber” Bullying?
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Knowingly or recklessly posting or sharing false or
defamatory information about a person.
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Taunting a person using online or otherwise
digital means.
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Posting or sharing information about another
person that is private.

18. What Is “Cyber” Bullying?
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Breaking into another person’s electronic account
and/or assuming a person’s identity
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Posting or sharing photos of other people without
their permission.
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21. AB 1266 - School Success and Opportunity Act

22. Requirements
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AB 1266 adds a single line to California
Education Code § 221.5:
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(f) A pupil shall be permitted to participate in
sex-segregated school programs and activities,
including athletic teams and competitions, and
use facilities consistent with his or her gender
identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the
pupil’s records.

23. Pre-Existing Policies
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Los Angeles Unified School District
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San Francisco Unified School District
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California Interscholastic Federation
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24. California School Board Association
Guidelines

25. (1) Allowing students who need or desire privacy to use
an alternative facility besides the regular facility used
by other students.
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(2) Allowing all students to use the gender-specific
facility that is consistent with their gender identity.
!
(3) Training and preparing staff to address and refer to
a transgender student by the student’s preferred name
and gender.
Guidelines

26. !
(4) Preparing data systems and records to list and
identify a transgender student by the student’s
preferred name and gender.
!
(5) Allowing all students to participate in
interscholastic sports according to their gender identify
in a manner that is consistent with the CIF bylaws.
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(6) Providing professional development to teachers and
staff, and offering educational activities or forums for
students and the larger community to dispel
stereotypes and encourage understanding.
Guidelines

27. Federal Policy & Proposed Laws

28. Title IX

29. Requirements
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“Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends
to claims of discrimination based on gender
identity or failure to conform to stereotypical
notions of masculinity or femininity and OCR
accepts such complaints for investigation,” the
guidelines state.

30. Requirements
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The Department of Education also declares that
schools must provide equal access to all programs
and facilities for transgender students, consistent
with the student’s gender identity.

31. Student Non Discrimination Act

32. Requirements
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[p]rohibits public school students from being excluded
from participating in, or subject to discrimination under,
any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of
their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender
identity or that of their associates.
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Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination.
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Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct
they reasonably believe to be unlawful under this Act.

33. Requirements
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Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce
these prohibitions by cutting off the educational
assistance of recipients found to be violating them.
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Allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of this
Act in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable
attorney's fees should they prevail.
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Deems a state's receipt of federal educational assistance
for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign
immunity for conduct prohibited under this Act regarding
such program.

34. Safe Schools and Improvement Act

35. Requirements
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The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) would amend
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to
require school districts in states that receive ESEA funds
to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying
and harassment, including on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender
identity and religion.
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36. Requirements
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The SSIA would also require that states report data on
bullying and harassment to the Department of Education.
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The Department of Education would then be required to
provide Congress with a report on the state reported data
every two years.

37. Taking Action
gender issues action plan

38. Step #1: Develop a Gender Policy and make sure
it is distributed amongst parents and students.

39. Step #2: Provide accessible resources about
bullying and support for students who may be
victims of bullying because of gender.

40. Step #3: Make gender bullying a focus,
particularly with technology - ensure that
parents understand the technology and how it is
being used.

41. Step #4: Deal with reports, rumors and other
evidence of gender bullying immediately.

42. We just scratched the surface.

43. Lawyers
Gagnier Margossian
@gamallp
consult@gamallp.com
gamallp.com

44. ?

45. CREATING A SAFE
ENVIRONMENT
FOR ALL STUDENTS
GENDER ISSUES