School Board passes transgender policy

PORTSMOUTH – The School Board unanimously approved the school district’s first-ever policy dealing with transgender and gender non-conforming students.

School Board Chairman Leslie Stevens praised the board’s passage of the new policy at its meeting Tuesday night in City Hall.

“I think this is a great policy and I’m really glad we have this,” Stevens said.

No other School Board member at Tuesday’s meeting or at the first reading in January commented on the policy. The new policy states that district policy “requires that all programs, activities and employment practices be free from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“This policy is designed in keeping with these mandates to create a safe learning environment for all students,” the policy further states.

Under the new policy, a transgender student is described as a person “whose gender identity is different from their gender assigned at birth.”

“Gender nonconforming describes people whose gender expression differs from stereotypical expectations,” the policy states. “Such as ‘feminine’ boys, ‘masculine’ girls and those who are perceived as androgynous.”

Superintendent Steve Zadravec said he thought it was “critical” that the board passed the new policy.

“It’s the policy that I think is even more relevant to making sure the schools are there to serve all students,” Zadravec said Wednesday. “A really important piece to this policy is that it was developed with students and teachers.”

He noted that when they approached students about creating a policy, “the feedback we received was very positive and affirming.”

He stressed it was not an issue “in terms of people saying, ‘wow there’s a problem or there’s something we need to fix.’”

“We just need to be sure we’re fully inclusive as a school system,” Zadravec said.

The policy addresses a number of issues, including “names and pronouns.”

“A student has the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun that corresponds to the student’s gender identity,” the policy states. “ … The intentional or persistent refusal to respect a student’s gender identity (for example intentionally referring to the student by a name or pronoun that does not correspond to the student’s gender identity) is a violation of this policy.”

The policy also states transgender and gender non-conforming students should “have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity consistently asserted at school.” Any student who wants increased privacy “shall be provided access to a single stall bathroom,” according to the policy.

The policy also addresses issues like locker room accessibility and dress codes.

It states the use of locker rooms by transgender students should “be assessed on a case-by-case basis.”

“In most cases, transgender students should have access to the locker room that corresponds to their gender identify,” according to the policy, which also bars schools from creating dress codes “that restrict students’ clothing or appearance on the basis of gender.”

Zadravec does not believe the district has had “an issue in terms of people feeling unwelcome or uncomfortable.” “But to put out a policy and be explicit I think helps,” he said.