Our education system needs to grow and adapt to welcome, include and fully serve every student in Oregon.
Only by following gender-affirming best practices can we build safe learning environments where gender-expansive students feel welcome, accepted and celebrated for who they are.
We have failed too many, for too long, by practices that have assimilated, marginalized and underserved members of tribes, students of color, students with disability and LGBTQ2SIA+ students.
That’s why this week, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) published the updated Supporting Gender Expansive Students: Guidance for Schools. It is grounded in the recognition, respect, affirmation, friendship, joy, belonging and safety every human deserves — including the LGBTQ2SIA+ students, staff and families that make-up our school communities.
Committed to keeping students safe and learning
When students feel unsafe in schools, due to exclusion, bullying, increased suicidal thoughts and attempts, instances of sexual assault, fear-based absences, and houselessness, they are prevented from learning, and enjoying school.
This updated guidance clarifies new and evolving laws and policies that support the rights and access for a broad range of gender expansive students and educators. The term “gender expansive” is meant to represent the myriad of system-impacted gender identities, expressions and assignments, including but not limited to transgender, nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, agender, genderqueer and genderfluid identities.
The guidance addresses a range of harmful and offensive challenges Oregon’s students face, such as being banned from sports teams, barred from creating a student club, or deadnamed at a seminal moment: high school graduation.
The topics covered in the guidance address these situations and other important components of educational access for gender expansive students: safety and support plans, curricular inclusion, athletics and school activities access, affirming names and pronouns, access to school restrooms and facilities, and more.
Developed in partnership with students, families, school districts, community-based organizations and state agency partners, this guidance helps gender expansive youth see adults and educational spaces grow and transform, to see and meet the needs of all Oregon students and their families.
Resources to match the moment
The publication of this guidance comes at the request of students and their families, educators and school staff, school district leaders, school boards, health care providers and community partners across Oregon. Students, families and school districts throughout our state are living through a tumultuous time for LGBTQ2SIA+ communities nationwide, as well as in Oregon.
This past year, 2022, was a year in which we saw unprecedented anti-trans and anti-queer media coverage, legislation, and political rhetoric nationwide that spread misinformation and perpetuated feelings of fear, discomfort, disgust and hatred of LGBTQ2SIA+ people, families and children. In this landscape, Oregon is experiencing transphobic and homophobic violence in our classrooms, field trips, and school board meetings, online, during local elections, at LGBTQ2SIA+ events and public libraries, and even in our own homes.
Schools support all students. Schools have a responsibility, along with the state, to call this behavior out for what it is: Hate. Further, schools have a responsibility to create safe, welcoming, respectful and affirming environments where all students can fully access their education in a place where they see themselves represented and feel a sense of belonging. Just as every student in our schools deserves.
ODE has created tools and resources aligned with this guidance and the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan to assist school staff, students and families with the implementation of these guidelines. There are resources designed to support administrators and school staff, including an action planning tool, a student support and safety plan template, and a guide for changing name and gender marker within student information systems, as well as several student and family-facing resources on filing discrimination complaints, accessing gender-affirming care, and asking for support in schools.
Building on the resilience of Oregon’s students
In the face of this anger and violence, gender-expansive students and their families remain resilient, as are the LGBTQ2SIA+ communities that lift them up all across Oregon. The 8% of Oregon students who identify as transgender, questioning or gender expansive are part of our community and our classrooms, our school plays, our after school clubs, our bands and orchestras, our leadership programs and our sports teams.
We want school leaders to recognize the pride and joy in creating LGBTQ2SIA+-affirming classrooms and schools for all students. LGBTQ2SIA+ youths report finding sources of joy in self-acceptance, supportive teachers, falling in love, playing sports, parental support, LGBTQ2SIA+ student clubs and affirming friends, among others. This should come as no surprise as all of us relate to these pathways to joy. Let’s ensure all our kids have pathways to joy.
By joining together and relying on the gender-affirming laws, policies and community connections we already have in place, we can make school a place where all students and all educators can thrive and support each other every day.
Kate Brown serves as governor of Oregon and is leaving office this month, to be replaced by Gov.-elect Tina Kotek. Colt Gill is director of the Oregon Department of Education.