“We treat our transgender students – our boys, our transgender boys and girls – simply like any other boys and girls with the same rights and responsibilities, rules and obligations,” stated Judy Chiasson, Ph.D. and program coordinator for Human Relations, Diversity and Equity, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) at the June 12 California State Senate Education Committee hearing on the School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266). “In the eight years that we’ve had our policy we’ve not had any problems. On the contrary, it has solved many problems. It’s a nonissue on our campuses.”
She added “Our transgender students use the bathrooms for the same reasons as everybody else. They do their business, fix their hair and make-up and gossip with friends.”
The sponsor of AB 1266 spoke at that same Senate Education Committee hearing.
“Although current California law already protects students from discrimination in education based on sex and gender identity, many school districts are not in compliance with these requirements,” stated Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). “AB 1266 clarifies existing law by requiring all students in K-12 be permitted to participate in school programs, activities and use facilities in accordance with that student’s gender identity – to ensure compliance with current law and guarantee transgender students have the same opportunities to participate and succeed as others.”
“No harm has ever been documented when schools permit transgender students common sense, equal access on the same basis as all other students, treating transgender girls like all other girls and transgender boys like all other boys,” continued Ammiano.
The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), has joined with ActRight (headed by Brian S. Brown of the National Organization for Marriage) and other organizations to form a coalition called “Privacy For All Students.” The coalition’s effort, according to their Aug. 26 press release, is to “collect approximately 505,000 voter signatures by Nov. 12 to qualify the referendum to the November 2014 ballot.”
In an Oct. 10 press release by PJI entitled Nightmare: Teen Boy Harasses Girls in Their Bathroom, Colo. School Tells Girls They Have No Rights, they put forward the story that “a teenage boy was entering girls’ bathrooms and, according to some students, even making sexually harassing comments toward girls he was encountering” at Colorado’s Florence High School (FHS). The last paragraph of the press release stated “Earlier this year, PJI led the opposition in California to AB 1266, the most sweeping legislation yet to assert transgender rights in schools. That law, which is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2014, is currently being targeted by a citizen referendum drive.” PJI has apparently embraced the tactic of demonizing a trans youth in Colorado to push their goal of repealing AB 1266.
Horribly, the PJI demonizing of the trans FHS student appears to be fabricated.
“We do have a transgender student at the high school, and she has been using the women’s restrooms,” School Superintendent Rhonda Vendetti told The Transadvocate’s editor Cristan Williams. “There has not been a situation. All the students of these parents who say they feel uncomfortable just about the fact that the student is allowed to go into the restrooms at the high school, into the stalls – they don’t believe that that’s appropriate, so that’s where it stems from. There has not been an incident of harassment, or anything that would cause any additional concern.”
Williams is angered by PJI’s behavior. “The trauma these adults have put this child through can never be undone,” said Williams in a comment to San Diego LGBT Weekly. “I’m repulsed that adults would behave like this. I support the family in taking advantage of every avenue available to them in making these bullies stop and then holding them to account for the trauma they’ve inflicted upon this kid.”
Williams added “A trans child’s life isn’t something you can just use and throw away. There’s consequences [for that], and I think PJI is about to figure that out.”
It’s not the trans FHS student who’s the monster of this story, but the monsters instead are the attorneys at the Pacific Justice Institute – those who spread a false tale about a trans youth so they could gather more signatures toward repeal of AB 1266.
I wondered when Sandeen would get around to this one. Funny thing… The ones most keeping this story alive, and possibly causing distress and trauma for this student, are transgender extremists, who just can’t let go of it. It would probably have faded away by now, if not for people trying to milk this for all the attention they can get.
The American Family Association’s OneNewsNow just posted on this story this morning (October 24, 2013), entitled Listen up, California: Colo. school girls told they have no privacy rights.
Apparently you’re unaware of how the intertwined stories of the Colorado trans 16-year-old and AB 1266 are still news in conservative media, to include Christian right media such as OneNewsNow.
And beyond that, the signature drive related to repeal of AB 1266 is still news — it was the subject of the Los Angeles Times‘s October 10th article Opponents gear up to fight transgender law.
Typo: Los Angeles Times article was on October 20th.
I found out something VERY interesting. I looked at the school policies from Oakland, and San Francisco (yes, SAN FRANCISCO) and they include provisions that would counter the very legitimate objections that will almost certainly lead to the repeal of AB 1266. For example, San Francisco specifically addresses the issue of locker rooms quite reasonably. Not in a manner that would make extremists on either side happy, but one which protects ALL students.
…and of course the PJI is still sending out email blasts and press releases, asking for money, using this as an excuse. The pressure will only increase until Nov 5th.
“The ones most keeping this story alive, and possibly causing distress and trauma for this student, are transgender extremists”
…you mean such as the kid’s parents who appear to be fully on board with Cristan’s investigative journalism?
Have a nice day!
Yeah, funny how being offered money makes people do such things. And what Williams does is hardly journalism. Not even close. Not even by the incredibly low ethical standards some accept these days.
Thank you for keeping this girl’s plight in mind. Powerful special interests from the far right and the far left have hijacked her life and will ultimately leave a ragged scar in her memories where the rest of us have recollections of friends, social events, and accomplishment.
Muchas gracias por esta información, la verdad que es bueno conseguir paginas como esta, ahora mismo comenzaré un proyecto bastante relacionado con este tema.