Hard to Know What to Think About Trans Students

Update: I had meant to add this story out of Olympia, We Thought She Was a Great Teacher. This teacher was obviously very misguided but it's frightening that no other adults saw the behavior until it was too late. 

update

I have attempted to wade into this topic previously but new stories have cropped up so I think it bears revisiting. 

I want to be clear - I believe trans people. I also believe that kids can know this about themselves.

However, the issue of trans children in schools makes it part of more than just one family's life.  It can affect schools in many ways. In the classroom. In sports. In the locker room. In bathrooms.

Parents, I'm not in SPS but what does the district send home at the beginning of the year that covers this topic? Anything?

I recall decades back when police finally developed rape kits and it became okay to publicly talk about rape, the number of rape arrests went up. Were there more rapes or was there more reporting? I think the latter. This may be true for trans students. There is just more awareness.

In my reading, I have seen the word "contagion" in reference to trans students. Because gender issues are being more openly spoken of, especially in schools, more kids might be questioning their own gender. When I say "schools," I don't mean teachers and staff necessarily, I mean also out on the playground and in the hallways. 

I will also point out that puberty is a troubling time for all but, with social media, I think it is an especially trying time to be a teen.  FYI, May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

I bring this up again because Seattle Schools in the news again on this issue as it relates to the student health centers in SOME schools. I highlight "some" because the student health centers are not operated by just one health organization. 

Here's what Seattle Schools says about LGBTQIA Resources.  

Here's a list of School-based Health Centers. There are 14 in high schools, 7 in middle schools and 7 elementary schools.  It is noted that Hamilton Middle School only has mental health services. I believe Eckstein MS is the only large middle school with no services. The providers are Kaiser Permanente, Neighborcare Health, Swedish Medical Center, Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, and Public Health - Seattle & King County. 

Here's the Know Your Rights: Trans and Nonbinary Students page at the SPS website. I'll circle back to this page.

The group that was in the news is Neighborhood Health which operates 14 of the health centers in Seattle Public schools.  This is from the Daily Wire (thanks to a reader!):

“The Neighborcare Health team wanted to share an exciting new update to our School-based Health Center services,” the email from a Program Manager for Neighborcare Health, which was obtained by Parents Defending Education through a public records request, reads. “Our program will begin offering comprehensive, evidence-based, gender-affirming care services to our students and families who need them.”

The change meant that the group could now give hormone treatments to children, it explained. “While our School-based Health Centers have long offered a continuum of gender-affirming care services including supportive student counseling, promotion of social identity, and health education, this step will allow us to begin offering families access to important medical interventions including hormone treatments,” it states.

The company official stated in the email that its foray into hormone treatment for children would initially be to a pilot program and that the administration of the irreversible drugs would only occur with parental approval.

“These services will be a small pilot available to students and families within the existing schools we serve,” the email went on to state, also noting that hormone therapy will only be administered to those who have the approval of parents or legal guardians.

See that last line? Absolutely true - students cannot access health services in the centers without a parent's approval. (I would think emergency services are something else.) The issue there, though, is that once the parent puts their John Hancock on the permission sheet, ANY service is then authorized and, except for elementary students, most students can ask for services without either the student or the health center telling the parent.

And to note - SPS does NOT dictate what services are offered through these providers, they just provide space. Sure, but I'd be willing to bet that SPS decides which healthcare providers are in the schools.

I note that over in Europe, they are struggling with this topic as well. Apparently Sweden and England are limiting some available medical interventions to change a person's sex. England's Health Service just came out with its latest Cass report and they say it is NOT clear what the future effects of puberty blockers are for children. 

There has been a similar pattern in other Western countries, with clinicians noting not only the rising number but also a change in the case mix of the young people seeking support.

There have been many more birth-registered females being referred in adolescence, marking a shift from the cohort that these services have traditionally seen; that is, birth-registered males presenting in childhood, on whom the previous clinical approach to care was based.

Clinicians also noted that these young people often had other issues that they were having to manage alongside their gender-related distress.

While a considerable amount of research has been published in this field, systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices. 

The summary is good and I'm sure the entire report goes into more detail.

Issues that I have no real answers for:

- In the classroom - say the school has a child who in first grade presented as a boy but comes back in second grade presenting as a girl. If I am a parent who has not discussed the trans issue with my child, I sure would like to know that there is an issue in my child's classroom so that my family can talk to my child about it. I would like to know that my district would basically tell students in any given classroom that "at our school we are kind and respectful to all students" but not necessarily go into detail.

- In the bathroom - From the Know Your Rights page, If nonbinary, you have the right to choose the restroom where you feel safest.  Fine but what is the school saying to its student population about this?

- In the locker room - this is one place that I have trouble because while you are trying to help the trans child's comfort, there is also the issue of the other students who are also having changing bodies and their discomfort with that. How are schools handling this issue?

- Overnight field trips - another place I see as problematic. I don't even know if kids know before the trip who is in their room. Are parents able to ask? And if one student isn't comfortable rooming with a trans student, what happens?

- Sports - this is the one where I have the biggest problem. I think the others can be worked out but not this one. I think trans students should compete on their gender birth team.

 I have tried valiantly to find something definitive on whether boys who are trans have an advantage over girls in sports. It appears that a lot of that issue is that every student may be at a different point on their trans journey than another. Meaning, some having puberty blockers and/or hormones versus those who haven't had them. 

What I have found are stories about boys who are trans on girls teams who often win over girl athletes as well as stories about girl athletes who will refuse to compete. When you are talking about high school and possibly scholarships involved, then it's a really important situation. The Know Your Rights page says: You have the right to participate as the gender you consistently assert at school. 

So that part of the SPS thinking on trans students is clear.

The takeaways:

- SPS seems to be at the forefront for services for trans students in the country so expect to hear more.

- I suspect at some point SPS will have to be more upfront with parents about how the district supports these students. 

- Will sports become the biggest fight?