[Counselors] Advice please

[OSRHEStudent Prep PK-12 Counselor Discussion Board]

Yes, they would need to be in the school database as the name/gender assigned on birth certificate until legal documentation says otherwise. That doesn't mean that teachers cannot use the preferred pronoun in communication out of respect for them and their gender identity.  That was one of the things we discussed with teachers.  It may cause some confusion, but ultimately not that big of a deal.  We slip up sometimes and our student is patient/understanding about it, I think because he knows we are making an effort to be respectful.


Not sure what the legal laws are, but our school will not change their name or gender in the computer unless they have court documentation.  We do have a handicap bathroom that is not gender specific.

We have students who are transgender.  We do have multiple single bathroom facilities in the office.  They are welcome to use them or they must use the bathroom that they were identified on their birth certificate.

We do meet with the parent/guardian and discuss any other accommodations that they feel they need to be successful at school.  We won't change names on the system, we go by the name on their birth certificate unless they have legally changed it.  We had one case where every 2 weeks they wanted to change their name.  This caused us to have to put an end to it.  Our teachers were confused on how to take roll in the system and how to address the student every other week.  She has asked to be referred to as a male.  The parents did not agree with this and we went with what the parent has requested at this time until the child turns 18.

Mattie McClenny,
Hugo High School


QUESTION:
On Wed, Jan 9, 2019 at 9:46 AM OSRHEStudent Prep PK-12 Counselor Discussion Board <counselors at lists.onenet.net<mailto:counselors at lists.onenet.net>> wrote:
We have 1 student that just came out as transgender and we just received another that has been transitioning for almost 2 years.  I haven't had any transgender students yet and now I have 2.
 How have you all handled transgender students??  Bathrooms? Do we need to let parents and/or students know? What legal stuff do I need to know?  I feel pretty naive about this and want to be prepared a little better to advocate for my transgender students.  Any advice or experiences that you all have gone through would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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