East Baton Rouge Parish Schools have yet to take any action regarding the recent federal directive ordering public schools to give transgender students access to bathrooms and locker room facilities corresponding with their gender identity, and the school board has yet to discuss the matter.
School Board President Barbara Freiberg says neither she nor the board has taken a stance on the directive, which also calls for allowing transgender students to participate in extracurricular sports aligning with their gender identity.
“As a school board we have not taken a position on this issue,” Freiberg says, adding she’s seeking more guidance before taking a stance on it.
EBR Schools Superintendent Warren Drake and the board’s attorneys are studying the ramifications of the directive and how the state is going to handle it moving forward, Freiberg says.
Freiberg, who has been a member of the board for six years, says she can’t recall any complaints about the civil rights of a transgender student being violated in local public schools.
“This is a real difficult issue,” she says, adding she assumes the district will state its position on the directive soon. “I think right now everyone is trying to get a real clarification on what the president has asked.”
A prepared statement from the school board says, “We are in the process of reviewing the document, and considering any and all obligations imposed upon us. We remain committed to providing a safe, caring, and nondiscriminatory learning environment for all students and will continue to evaluate, develop, and revise our policies and practices as necessary to address student needs.”
The U.S. departments of Justice and Education jointly issued the “Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students” last week. It’s meant to serve as a guide for how schools and teachers should address the civil rights protections of transgender students. The two departments cite the federal Title IX law, which says that no person can be discriminated against based on their sex.
“The departments interpret Title IX to require that when a student or the student’s parent or guardian, as appropriate, notifies the school administration that the student will assert a gender identity that differs from previous representations or records, the school will begin treating the student consistent with the student’s gender identity,” the letter says. “Under Title IX, there is no medical diagnosis or treatment requirement that students must meet as a prerequisite to being treated consistent with their gender identity.”
—Alexandria Burris
