This is an open letter to the Perkiomen Valley School Board in defense of our LBGTQ+ community in opposition to proposed policy 720 that discriminates against them. 

You have been presented with this letter because the Perkiomen Valley School Board may be denying certain students access to the same restrooms and facilities used by other students that correspond to their gender identity. The school’s decision to exclude transgender students from facilities that align with their gender identity, creates harm by stigmatizing them and impairing their ability to participate fully at school and to enjoy the same safe learning environment afforded to other students.

 

It is not only in the best interest of the transgendered students to be allowed access to restrooms and other facilities that correspond to the gender identity to which with they live every day, but it is also required by federal antidiscrimination law. Preventing transgender students from using the restroom in accordance with his or her gender identity is unlawful sex discrimination {see below}

 

Case Law 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) prohibits discrimination based on sex in any education program, such as a public school, that receives federal financial assistance.

Federal courts have ruled that Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination “on the basis of sex” protects students from discrimination based on their gender identity, gender nonconformity, or transgender status. In the school context, excluding transgender students from using the same restrooms as other students deprives them of equal access to educational opportunity. 

Likewise, many courts have also recognized that discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination under other federal laws. All have concluded that transgender people must be allowed to use the same restrooms and other facilities as non-transgendered persons Specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination against transgender individuals based on gender stereotyping. 

Recently, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”), which enforces Title IX, published guidance making explicit that “Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity” and indicating that it would accept such complaints for investigation and resolution.

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If we allow Policy 720 to remain in effect, we will not only leave the board open to litigation but also put our administration and children in a precarious position. The passage of this policy will give permission to the community to discriminate against our students.

We hope this letter has given you a firm understanding of why schools should—and must—allow transgender students to use school restrooms and other sex-segregated facilities that correspond to their gender identity.

 

Please sign this petition to show you support and want to protect our children’s rights!