Just a few days ago, Donald Trump rolled back federal guidelines introduced in May 2016, which interpreted existing federal law to give guidance on how schools should treat students who are transgender. The guidelines included instructions to respect students’ gender identities regarding dress codes, locker rooms and bathroom use, pronoun and name use and addressing sexual harassment. Students, teachers and families are rightly concerned about what this rollback means for trans youth and those who support them.
A central reason for the fear is that this action, and Trump’s administration in general, have emboldened transphobic bigots who want to harm trans people of all ages. The rollback of the federal guidelines also sends a message to backwards schools that there is no longer a need to put resources, time or effort into protecting trans youth. The horrible, fearmongering and hypocritical rationale Trump gave for the rollback instructs schools — and public spaces in general — to treat trans people as a threat. On a state level, legislation like this has already resulted in multiple assaults on trans women, right-wing extremists feeling free to monitor bathrooms with weapons, and trans youth attempting or completing suicide.
Setbacks such as this one often come on the heels of progress that has been made. While progress has been made in terms of increased visibility and awareness for trans people, the year 2016 nonetheless was considered the “deadliest year on record” for trans people, with at least 24 out trans people murdered; the youngest aged 16. The year saw a rise in hateful bills like HB2 in North Carolina, which both garnered a great deal of excellent fightback and inspired bigots to attack trans people and propose similar laws in other states.
What is Title IX and what does this all mean?
Title IX is a federal law that makes it illegal for schools receiving federal funding to discriminate on the basis of sex. This has many facets: Title IX is an instrumental item used to get justice for sexual assault survivors, attain equity for women’s athletic teams, report misogyny in school environments and allow students to advocate for themselves. The federal guidelines explained how Title IX applies to trans students. Title IX expands beyond “sex” — it also references gender stereotypes and protects people’s right to be treated as their true gender regardless of body type.
The good news, as explained by the National Center for Transgender Equality, is that the guidelines do not introduce anything new on a legal level. Title IX has always protected trans people — the guidelines only clarified how the Department of Education was enforcing the law. Besides Title IX, trans people are also protected by state laws and policies and the U.S. Constitution.
The bad news is that, in addition to the inevitable rise in bullying, discrimination, harassment and harm being leveraged against trans people because of Trump’s administration and movement, Trump’s Department of Education is almost certain to not enforce any Title IX protections. This is likely to deepen the issues facing trans youth if people do not mobilize to fight back.
A number of studies show that around 75 percent of trans students feel unsafe at school due to their trans status and/or gender expression. Some 63 percent have reported avoiding bathrooms. As many as 41 percent of trans and gender nonconforming people have attempted suicide. A very conservative estimate states that 15 percent of trans youth are sexually assaulted at least once in elementary, middle or high school.
Fight back!
Similarly to the sanctuary city responses, following Trump’s rollback, a few states have issued statements assuring that they would protect trans youth in accordance with Title IX regardless of the lack of federal guidelines. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy recently issued a similar statement, highlighting the fact that his executive order protecting trans youth statewide will remain in place. This act by the governor could not have been possible without a strong organized movement for trans rights in
Connecticut. In 2014, Malloy responded to organized pressure and militant action and issued a demand that Jane Doe, a trans Latina teen who was illegally held in an adult prison by DCF, be released from that prison as quickly as possible. In South Dakota, Georgia and Nevada, bills similar to HB2 were struck down in response to the mass action against HB2.
Nate Quinn, a young trans college student known in Sarasota county for his list of demands to the school board regarding trans protections, has called a massive demonstration for trans rights in Florida schools. Similar demonstrations have been called all over the country.
Communities have initiated call-ins and letter-writing campaigns to individual schools and superintendents, demanding answers about how those schools will protect trans youth. Like with sanctuary cities, statements promising protections for trans people are not enough: action is needed. Many existing protections are woefully limited: for example, a large number of schools that offer protection and respect to trans students extend those rights on the condition that a parent is involved. As trans youth know, many families of trans children are unfortunately not supportive. Making basic respect, dignity and safety contingent upon outing a child to their parent and risking their safety at home — or even homelessness — is not an adequate form of protection. Most schools have no mandated education for staff on LGBTQ people’s needs.
In light of the new Trump rollback, it is particularly crucial that parents, teachers and professors — the adults and people in power in institutions that should be protecting trans youth and students — are well-informed, strong fighters for the people who rely on them as advocates. A year ago, the National Center for Transgender Equality created the Model District Policy , an in-depth resource for educators to use in creating functional protections for trans students and becoming better at trans advocacy.
The issue goes far beyond using the bathroom (which is in and of itself a huge health concern). Actress Laverne Cox said in a recent statement in response to the rollback: “These bathroom laws are about whether trans people have a right to exist in a public space. It’s not a states’ rights issue; it’s a civil rights issue.” When bigoted bathroom bills were popping up around the country, Cox had said even more directly: “If we can’t access public bathrooms, we can’t go to school; we can’t work; we can’t go to health care facilities.”
Make no mistake — all of those outcomes are the exact intention of Trump in revoking the guidelines and the right-wingers proposing transphobic bills. The movement growing around Trump has as its open desire to see trans people remain in the closet forever, or be punished ruthlessly for daring to live authentically. They are seeking to further victimize the most vulnerable population in the country by denying us healthcare access and safety in public spaces. The average life expectancy for a trans woman of color is currently 35. Trump and his cronies seek to bring that number down even further.
Trump is, foremost, a constant reminder of the fact that we need a new system. For trans people to be truly protected, cherished and allowed to develop to our fullest potential, we need to build a movement that will shut down the Trump administration and make bigots afraid. To guarantee full rights and dignity for our community, we need to organize to defeat the transphobic right wing and the capitalism that created it, and we need people from all other movements to have our backs.
IV Staklo is a trans organizer with the PSL in New Haven, Ct. They are also a trans suicide hotline operator and peer-to-peer suicide intervention trainer.
