The Department of Education on Friday put public schools across the country on notice that they could lose their federal funding if educators and staff use the wrong pronoun when addressing transgender students, or do not prevent students from using the wrong pronoun.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter to all public schools, the top civil rights officials at the Department of Education and Department of Justice provided more detail about the new federal rules on transgender bathroom access and other protections and how the federal government would interpret them.
Under a section titled “Identification Documents, Names and Pronouns,” the letter stated that under its interpretation of federal civil rights law, schools must treat students consistent with their gender identity “even if records or identification documents indicate a different sex.”
To underscore this point, the letter noted that the government has resolved civil rights disputes involving transgender issues “with agreements committing that school staff and contractors will use pronouns and names consistent with a transgender student’s gender identity.”
The DOE also provided several detailed examples of which pronouns to use when addressing transgender students, as part of a 25-page document released Friday as a supplement to federal guidance for transgender students.
“One of the first issues that school officials may address when a student notifies them of a general transition is determining which name and pronouns the student prefers,” the document stated. “Some schools have adopted policies to prepare all school staff and students to use a student’s newly adopted name, if any, and pronouns that are consistent with a student’s gender identity.”
The document then goes on to list four examples of pronoun rules different school districts around the country have implemented.
In Nevada’s Washoe County School District, for example, the district’s electronic database includes the student’s requested name in addition to his or her legal name “in order to inform faculty and staff of the name and pronoun to use when addressing the student.”
A rule instituted in the Kansas City public schools in Missouri puts employees and students on notice that they can be punished for not using students’ preferred pronouns and names.
“The intentional or persistent refusal to respect the general identity of an employee or student after notification of the preferred pronoun/name used by the employee or student is a violation of this procedure,” the rule stated.
Meanwhile, the District of Columbia Public Schools has a procedure that includes a school planning guide for principals to review with transgender students “as they plan how to ensure the school environment is safe and supportive.”
“The school planning guide allows the student to identify the student’s gender identity and preferred name, key contacts at home and at school, as well as develop plans for access to restrooms, locker rooms and other school activities,” it stated.
