Saturday, May 14, 2016
Staff/wire report
YOUNGSTOWN
Mahoning Valley schools are working to comply with the Obama administration’s instruction to all public school districts across the nation that they should allow transgender students to use the restrooms that match their gender identity.
A letter signed by officials at the Justice and Education departments does not mandate any actions. It is considered guidance, though schools that do not abide could face a loss of federal aid. It tells the schools they should ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex.
“A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so,” it says.
The Obama administration also will send a 25-page document describing policies in place in some schools around the country, such as installing privacy curtains or allowing students to change in bathroom stalls.
Steve Schildcrout, treasurer of the Youngstown chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friend of Lesbians and Gays), said the organization supports the federal directive.
He believes transgender nondiscrimination encompasses broader issues including housing and employment and has noticed transgender issues gaining sharper focus.
“It certainly seems to be shaping up to be a battle,” he said. “It’s hard enough being a transgender young person without feeling like you’re not supported by your school.”
COUNTY CENTER
Ron Iarussi, superintendent of the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, said the agency is working to provide local school district officials with all the information they need to review and, if necessary, implement new policies.
“At this point, we are kind of in the process of gathering more information. We’re looking at some of our state agencies, like [the Ohio School Boards Association], and other possible support groups that are in charge of making recommendations on policy,” he said.
Iarussi said school districts are individually responsible for setting policies and that while MCESC forwards information from its legal counsel to districts, districts are encouraged to consult their own counsel as well.
“We are encouraging all districts to make sure they uphold their mission of providing every opportunity, without discriminating against any child at all,” he said. “We want to make sure we do not discriminate against any students and we meet all the students’ needs. We are also interested in protecting the safety and welfare of all students in schools.”
WARREN
Warren schools Superintendent Steve Chiaro said he and the district are not surprised by the president’s directive, and he is not concerned about what will be required to carry it out.
“I don’t see it as being a change,” he said. “Warren has always been respectful of its students.”
Chiaro said he is not able to discuss whether the district already has transgender students or has been accommodating them already. But he said a student and his or her parent must indicate to a “significant adult” in the school system that a child is transgender “to ensure they are being treated fairly.”
“I’m very protective of our kids,” he said. “If a student and parents identify a transgender [student] and use the facilities they identify with, where is the concern?” he said.
CANFIELD, AUSTINTOWN
“We believe we should have a nurturing environment and be accepting of all – and we have that here,” said Alex Geordan, Canfield schools superintendent.
“I’m concerned we’re not thinking about that here. Are our legislators really understanding everyone’s needs, and do they truly understand how this is going to impact us? We’re going to follow law and respect what the federal government and the legislators set forth for us, but do they really understand how this is going affect us and the impact it’s going to have in our hallways?”
Geordan said now that handling transgender situations is a federal mandate, he believes those students will suffer because now they are a spectacle.
“We don’t discriminate, that’s in our policy – we don’t do that here. This is creating an environment to highlight and to promote difference,” he said.
He said he had been busy contacting his staff to figure out what this policy entails in terms of sports, school field trips and more.
A problem he said he has with the policy is that noneducators are enacting legislation for educators to follow – perhaps unknowingly causing issues in areas unthought of.
Vince Colaluca, Austintown superintendent, said the new policy wouldn’t change much in his district.
“It’s nothing we haven’t done,” he said. “We look at needs of individual students, where they are in life on an academic or personal level, and have made accommodations in the past.”
Colaluca said for now he has enacted administrative guidelines but is going to sit back and wait for official word from the Ohio Department of Education as to where to go from here.
CAMPBELL AND STRUTHERS
Campbell schools Superintendent Matthew Bowen said the district does not have a specific policy addressing transgender students and restroom use, though he added that the district will comply with state and federal law.
Bowen indicated that he was not aware that the district has ever enrolled any transgender students, though he said administrators would work with transgender students and their families on a case-by-case basis.
He added in a statement: “No matter how Ohio’s future legislation is adopted, we in Campbell will always respect and support children regardless of family economics, color of skin or sexual identity. ... We do not foresee any obstacles with this issue at this time.”
Joseph Nohra, Struthers superintendent, said the district will comply with the federal directive, noting that the district receives a substantial amount of federal aid.
“We haven’t had a lot of students identify as transgender, but we have to have policies ready in place,” Nohra said. “It’s our job to protect students’ civil rights from being violated.”
A response was not available Friday from Youngstown City Schools.
HIGHER EDUCATION
It was an effort to be sensitive to students’ needs rather than a complaint that led Eastern Gateway Community College to add gender-neutral restrooms at the Valley Center in downtown Youngstown and the main campus in Jefferson County.
“We commenced this before we had any complaints,” said Sherri VanTassel, vice president for administrative services.
The Valley Center and the main campus each have a gender-neutral restroom centrally located. VanTassel estimated these were installed between six and seven months ago. There are a handful of students at each location who are either transgender or in some stage of the process of changing gender.
“We’ve tried to be very sensitive to their needs,” VanTassel said.
Jimmie Bruce, EGCC president, agreed.
“We have several individuals who have come to us, who are either transgender or in the process of reclassifying themselves from” one gender to the other, “and we wanted to be sensitive and mindful of that,” he said.
A sign outside the Valley Center facility bears both the male and female symbols as well as a wheelchair symbol. “Restroom gender neutral,” it reads. Another sign reads, “This restroom may be used by any person regardless of gender identity or expression.”
Rey Dothard, 29, of Warren, who identifies as transgender, said he attended EGCC for a time and had positive experiences with the faculty. He had founded the Northeast Ohio Transgender Group and describes the federal directive as a positive step.
“I think this is going to help a lot of people,” he said. “We’ll have to see what the backlash is going to be. There are people who think trans people are perverts, even though there are so many straight people who do harmful things, or they think it’s a mental illness.”
Ron Cole, a Youngstown State University spokesman, said in an email that the university has “family and/or unisex bathrooms on campus, which are already actually gender neutral since any individual, regardless of gender, can use these facilities.”