ERIC Number: EJ1287515
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Mar
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0895-9048
EISSN: N/A
Beyond Bathroom Bills and the Gender Identity Debate: Complicating the Policy Conversation about Supporting Trans Students in Schools
Farley, Amy N.; Leonardi, Bethy
Educational Policy, v35 n2 p274-303 Mar 2021
Schools and districts across the country have been thrust into the political limelight as they grapple with sometimes competing policy messages about the education of transgender and gender expansive students. Drawing on 2 years of survey data from families of transgender and gender expansive youth in one mountain state, this article uses critical trans politics to examine the ways the current policy climate aligns with the supports schools provide. Results suggest that parents desire policies and practices that transform cis-heteronormative school structures, and they recognize that policy is often limited in its ability to affect the material experiences of youth in schools. We therefore argue that a focus on bathroom bills and policies regarding trans accessibility have distracted from a conversation that needs to be elevated to address broader structural issues and should ultimately be driven by families and trans youth.
Descriptors: LGBTQ People, Sexual Identity, Educational Environment, Sanitary Facilities, School Policy, Parent Attitudes, Student Needs, Social Bias, Politics of Education, Educational Policy, Elementary Secondary Education, State Policy, School Safety, Social Justice
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A