Highland Park transgender policy passes unanimously

• Highland Park's Board of Education on Monday night unanimously passed a transgender policy for students.
• U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. and several other state and local leaders voiced support for the policy.
• The passage of the customized policy came after months of discussion and research.
• Several Central Jersey school districts have adopted policies regarding transgender students.

HIGHLAND PARK - Much more than just a "bathroom bill," the borough Board of Education on Monday night unanimously passed a transgender policy for students that is considered inclusive and expansive. Earlier in the day,  Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., 6th District, and other state and local leaders voiced support for the new policy.

The passage of the customized policy came after months of discussion and research, said Schools Superintendent Scott Taylor.

"The Highland Park school district has long prided itself on promoting tolerance and supporting kids of all types of needs, whether they are social, emotional needs or learning needs," he said. "We began as an ad hoc committee of four. We met over the course of four  long, arduous meetings to look at sample policies from around the country, and we also examined resources from great organizations such as Garden State Equality and developed a homegrown policy that suits our needs and turns out to be one of the more progressive policies out there."

READ: Pallone voices support for transgender issues

READ: Transgender conference brings hope, solidarity

The Highland Park proposal already was under consideration when President Barack Obama's administration issued a directive on May 13 instructing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and other school facilities that match their gender identity.

On May 13, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education published “significant guidance” regarding protections for transgender students and a school’s Title IX obligations regarding transgender students. This guidance states, “a school must not treat a transgender student differently from the way it treats other students of the same identity.”

That proposal came after North Carolina House Bill 2, known as HB2, was signed into law, and says the bathroom a person uses is determined by his or her biological gender at birth.

Calling the borough's policy the "strongest policy statement that is supportive of transgender students of any school district in the state if not in the country," Pallone added that it is "certainly not the first time that Highland Park has taken a stand on a civil rights issue in the forefront of progressive action."

Pallone said publicly supporting a school's policy is not the norm, but in this instance, he felt it was warranted. In this show of support, Pallone was joined by Taylor, Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin, D-18th District, Highland Park Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler, school board President Darcie Cimarusti and Aaron Potenza, director of programs for Garden State Equality, the state's largest LGBT civil rights organization.

"I don't normally come around to towns or Boards of Ed and tell them whether I like or don't like what they are doing. That is pretty much up to them locally to make those decisions, obviously," Pallone said. "But, in this case, I couldn't help myself because I just think that they are being so inclusive and so supportive of transgenders, and in light of what has been happening in North Carolina and in Congress as well last week, I think it is important for me to speak out and say I appreciate the fact that the Board of Ed is considering this policy, and I obviously support their adoption of it.

"It is an issue of civil rights that Highland Park is focusing on. But, it is also an issue helping people. This is an educational element to this, even for politicians. I should just speak for myself, but a lot of times, I don't feel that we fully understand what we need to do, so I am going to continue to educate myself, and that is one of the reasons I came here myself because I think that Highland Park, the Board of Ed and the people behind me here are not only playing a civil rights role and a role that is important to the individual student, but a role that is important in educating politicians and the public at the same time in what is the right thing to do."

Addressing safety, expectations, gender determination, privacy, support, training and dress codes, the seven-page policy allows transgender students to access any school bathroom, locker room or school program based on their affirmed gender. The policy is detailed, providing expectations in "an inclusive learning environment for all students, including transgender, gender nonconforming and/or gender expansive students (TGNEC), and to ensuring that every student has equal educational opportunities and equal access to the district’s educational programs and activities."

Mittler stressed that the policy is "not just about bathrooms."

"What our school board is looking at is a holistic approach to civil rights — the rights of all of our residents to be who they are," said Mittler, adding that last week the borough police department had sensitivity training from members of the LGBT community. "And Highland Park is taking this very seriously. This is just one step to including everyone in the process of education, freedom and democracy here in Highland Park."

Cutting-edge policy

Cimarusti said the committee examined several model policies, but the borough's policy was honed after the members "were not satisfied with the model policies out there."

"Specifically, the piece that I didn't appreciate as a board member was it gave the administration wide berth in terms of questioning the child in terms of questioning their identity and find out if it was genuinely held," she said. "What makes this policy so different is it leaves those decisions up to the students and their families, and does not give administrators that right to question a student about things that they should not be questioning a student about."

The borough's policy covers gender determination for students in prekindergarten  through 12th grade, adding that the younger set, students in prekindergarten through fifth grades, may address the subject through their parents or guardian as advocates, while those in grades 6 through 12 may speak for themselves.

The policy also stresses customization for each individual and that "HPPS staff shall accept a student’s asserted gender identity when it is a sincerely held part of the student’s core identity. Staff and schools shall not question or disregard the students’ assertion of their gender."

"What makes this policy, in my eyes, cutting edge, is not so much the bathroom policy or even the language written into the policy, but specifically a plan that we would be requiring our staff to follow that would be developed in concert with a transgender child or a child who is transitioning, along with his or her parents, if such is applicable, to be sure that formal structured supports are in place for these kids," Taylor said.

Noting the need for addressing needs of TGNEC students in compliance with applicable anti-discrimination laws, the policy understands that it cannot "anticipate every situation that might occur with respect to TGNEC students," but will work to "customize support to optimize each student's equal access to the district’s educational programs and activities and will do so by developing a Gender Diverse Student Support Plan for students who are undergoing gender transition or have already established a gender diverse identity."

Under the policy, the program will support transgender students, prohibit discrimination, protect transgender students' privacy and train school employees in promoting a TGNEC-affirming school environment. This policy supports "the goal of all Highland Park Public School staff to ensure the safety, comfort, privacy and healthy development of all students, including transgender, gender nonconforming and/or gender expansive students."

Potenza said Garden State Equality has received numerous calls from school districts for assistance in drafting LGBT policies. Further, Potenza said that the borough's policy sends an important message to "vulnerable youth that while there is a lot of animosity and even hate out there, this community stands with them and is supportive of the rights and identities."

"We have our own model policy that we offer, and we offer training on that policy and consultation on it, but I think the outcome you see here is just tremendous," Potenza said. "You didn't just take a template policy and run with it, but you spent four months to really get that policy right for those students."

'No room for hate'

Pallone strongly condemned HB2, and last week voted against the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House of Representatives and includes an amendment that would undo President Obama’s landmark 2014 executive order banning federal contractors from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Obama’s executive order came after Pallone led a letter several years ago urging the president to include workplace protections for LGBT Americans employed by federal contractors.

"I was kind of shocked frankly that the issue of bathrooms, locker rooms, public facilities became such a lightning rod because, to me, it is just common sense that someone should be able to use the bathroom of their choice, and I was also pleased with the fact that the president also issued a directive, which I guess is also somewhat unusual, essentially saying that transgender students should have that option," Pallone said.

"So, I do think that this is in the vanguard of what is considered civil rights, anti-discrimination. I've always felt that any kind of discrimination, whether it is based on your race, your ethnicity or or your religion or your gender, shouldn't be tolerated."

For Cimarusti, the policy's passage "makes it clear there is no room for hate" in the borough schools and "the board, administration, students and staff are committed to the well-being" of the TGNEC students. She said the policy received a "tremendous amount of support" from inside and outside of the community.

At a recent school board meeting, several Highland Park Middle School students attended and presented a petition signed by more than 60 peers urging the board to adopt the policy. Other students wrote letters encouraging the passage.

Among those outside the borough's borders, the board received a letter from Ari Rosmarin, the public policy director of the ACLU-NJ. Rosmarin wrote that the policy "advances safety and dignity by empowering students to fully participate in all aspects of student life while respecting their gender identity and protecting their privacy."

"A parent of an incoming transfer student from Madison, Wisconsin, wrote to the board and said, 'How relieved and proud I feel that we have chosen to make HP our family's new home," Cimarusti said. "The student, who will enter Highland Park High School in the fall, also sent a personal note to me and Dr. Taylor, that stated, 'being transgender, this policy feels so welcoming to me and others in my community.'"

A transgender man, Potenza called the school district's move "a beautiful thing," happening "in the current political climate, which can be really harsh for transgender people and especially for transgender youth."

"I am an advocate for LGBT youth in the state of New Jersey," said Potenza, who thanked those who "crafted an amazing policy."

"As a transgender person, my very identity has been politicized over the past couple of months. Who I am or who someone else believes that I am has become part of a contentious national debate, and I want to say transgender people, and especially transgender youth, are facing an organized campaign that seeks to roll back LGBT civil rights broadly by targeting and scapegoating some of our most vulnerable members in transgender people and particularly transgender youth."

Potenza said that calls to suicide hotlines have increased nationwide in light of the recent political and social climate. Recently, more parents have reported to Garden State Equality that they are afraid for their children because they have seen hateful messages on social media.

"It is really unacceptable, it is toxic and unkind, and it has become exhausting, and I can only imagine if it is exhausting for me how it feels for young people who are just coming to terms with their sexual orientation and gender identity," Potenza said.

"But we have also seen over the past year a tremendous amount of support in New Jersey. I have seen communities and school districts across the state who are doing the right things. Communities like Highland Park who have been doing the right thing for years and who took the time and put in the effort to put in a policy that gets this right. Communities that are standing up for these young people and who are saying, not only is this the law and we need to abide by the state and federal law, but it is the right thing to do and the moral thing to do."

Other Central Jersey school districts

More than 25 school districts in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties were contacted for comments and information on their LGBT policies. As of Tuesday, two responded with a comment.

Hillsborough passed a policy on transgender students in October.

“The district strives to provide a safe and supportive environment for all students, “ said Kia Bergman, the school district’s spokeswoman. “In the district's Transgender Student Policy, the superintendent or district designee works with gender nonconforming and transgender students and their parents on a case-by-case basis to take reasonable measures to accommodate the needs of the student.”

Piscataway is working on its policy, but working with transgender students is nothing new for the district.

"Piscataway students have a long history of diversity and acceptance for many cultures and alternative lifestyles," Superintendent of Schools Teresa M. Rafferty said in an email. "We have accommodated the needs of transgender students for several years now through good communication with parents and students, support groups at our counseling center, The Haven, and addressing individual needs. The Board Policy Committee is involved in discussions for specific policies that will codify current practices."

On several public school websites, most that have a policy adopted the Strauss Esmay policy 5756 within the last year or two that addresses transgender and gender nonconforming students. The policy had been circulated last year by Strauss Esmay, a Toms River-based firm that forwards proposed policy changes to local school districts.

Strauss Esmay’s policy guide is consistent with the May 13 guidance and the more detailed option in policy guide 5756 also is aligned, according to the firm's website. Both options in the policy guide indicate that the district will comply with federal and state laws and regulations. 

Other local school districts that passed the 5756 policy include Bedminster, Bernards,  Bound Brook, Hunterdon Central, Middlesex, East Brunswick, South Plainfield, Old Bridge, New Brunswick, Manville and Perth Amboy. Others, such as Linden, have their own policy, 5145.7 Gender Identity and Expression, last modified in February. 

The Bridgewater-Raritan district is reviewing the policy.

Staff Writer Cheryl Makin: 732-565-7256; cmakin@mycentraljersey.com