The Princeton Joint Unified School District adopted a uniform code outlining the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming students after a unanimous vote by the Board of Education last week, Vice President of the Board of Education Patrick Sullivan said.
The code has taken immediate effect after the board’s vote, and will affect approximately 3,500 students from four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.
Sullivan noted that the new policy establishes a unified protocol for staff members and students that allows choice in pronoun preference and use of bathroom, locker room and other public facilities. Staff members are also forbidden from revealing a student’s gender identity unless given permission by the student, he added.
President of the Board of Eduction Andrea Spalla declined to comment.
Sullivan explained that impetus for change first originated at a board meeting when members of the Gay Straight Alliance, a student advocacy group at Princeton High School, delivered compelling testimonies and suggestions regarding these policies. Several suggestions were then reviewed and recommended by the board’s Policy Committee, he noted.
PHS Principal Gary Snyder declined to comment.
Sullivan noted that there may have been past instances of ambiguity when it came to accommodating gender non-conforming students. Individual schools and administrators previously had discretion in setting school-wide policies.
“Our policy wasn’t very clear, and we were handling these instances on a case-by-case basis, mainly at the high school,” Sullivan said. “We wanted to codify practices that we had in place and also to make sure they weren’t just ad hoc, but part of the policy.”
Nonetheless, the policy change does not alter any existing practices regarding gender non-conforming students, according to Sullivan.
“I don’t think there will be too much of an immediate impact on a day-to-day basis,” Sullivan said. “It shouldn’t change any practice in individual schools.”
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a staff attorney with Lambda Legal, a national advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, explained that the new policy makes explicit what Title IX and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination already require — that transgender students be treated in accordance with their gender identity when it comes to single-sex classes, activities and facilities.
He explained that the adoption reflects a national trend by school districts to establish anti-discrimination practices with regards to transgender students.
“The policy sends a powerful message that all students are welcome and will be treated with dignity and respect, no matter their gender identity, and that discrimination will not be tolerated,” Gonzalez-Pagan said.
Gonzalez-Pagan noted that by adopting a very clear and comprehensive policy, the Princeton School Board is leading on issues of acceptance and diversity and that his organization hopes this will serve as a model for the country.
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