The Biden administration recently made changes to Title IX—a 1972 law that prohibits gender-based discrimination in schools—and Newton is making adjustments.
New regulations took effect on Aug. 1 expanding definitions and policies to include more protections for LGBTQ students and those who are pregnant.
“Relatedly, we’re proposing a policy that is consistent with the new Title IX protections as well as what’s been in state law for several years now but hasn’t been encapsulated in a policy that we’re recommending for the district regarding gender identity support,” Jill Murray Grady, general counsel for the district, said at Monday night’s School Committee meeting.
Under the 2011 Act Relative to Gender Identity, state law applies the protections under the state’s discrimination statutes to LGBTQ people and recognizes gender identity protected from discrimination as well.
The state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has given guidance to Massachusetts school districts on how to implement that state law for several years, and the new Biden administration decision to include transgender and nonbinary students in Title IX protections presents an opportunity for the district to set a clear policy regarding gender identity.
The Newton Public Schools Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion assembled a group to draft guidance for Newton schools to create that policy, Grady said.
Here are some highlights from the gender identity policy:
- Students are encouraged to register their preferred name and pronouns in the district’s Student Information System, so school staff know how to refer to those students. Students should also reach out to their guidance counselors to have their names and pronouns changed in Google Workspace for Education, if they want.
- School records related to a student’s gender identity and gender transition will be kept private and in a file separate from their other records. That information will only be disclosed if the school is legally required to disclose it.
- Schools will consult with a student and that student’s parents or guardians—with older students, only if those guardians are involved in the student’s transition process—when deciding whether or not a student’s gender identity should be disclosed, and to whom.
- Newton schools are integrating age-appropriate LGBTQ-inclusive content into curriculum for kids in preschool through 12th grade and will provide ongoing professional development for educators to make sure that curriculum reflects the needs of the community.
- Students may use whichever restroom and locker rooms correspond to their gender identity. Students may also request alternatives to using shared restrooms and locker rooms, for any reason, and school staff will try to set up accommodations (gender-neutral restroom, the nurse’s office, etc.) whenever possible.
- Parents may opt their children out of health curriculum that discusses sexual reproduction, but that does not include curriculum related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Students have the right to participate in interscholastic sports and other activities, regardless of their gender identity, and a student will not be excluded from participation on gender-specific sports teams that correlate to their gender identity.
The policy consists of things Newton schools are already doing for the most part, and it keeps in line with state law and the Title IX changes and puts them into clear district policy.
“This makes me very happy, that we have something official in place that codifies all of this,” School Committee member Emily Prenner said. “I’m also happy and supportive—no pun intended—that there are going to be support plans with appropriate groups of adults as well as the parents.”
The School Committee is expected to vote on whether or not to adopt the official gender identity policy at its next meeting.