Civil Rights Community Urges Policymakers to Include, Protect, and Celebrate Transgender Students

Education News 06.22,22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mattie Goldman, [email protected]

150 civil rights and education groups denounce hateful policies, ‘an attack on transgender youth is an attack on civil rights’

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, joined by 150 national civil and human rights organizations, condemned discriminatory legislation that would harm both cisgender and transgender girls and women. Citing the unprecedented wave of proposed and enacted laws across the country that aim to make participating in school intolerable for LGBTQI+ students, and especially transgender students, the open letter calls for policymakers to reject attacks on transgender youth and commit to the full inclusion of transgender students in educational opportunities.

“We reject the bigoted, ignorant, mean-spirited, and discriminatory policies currently being considered by far too many state legislatures that seek to exclude transgender people and make these members of our communities invisible. Targeting and excluding transgender students from participation in school programming, including athletics programs, alongside their cisgender peers is harmful to all students and undermines the learning environment for everyone,” the groups wrote.

The letter adds, “We are fortunate that transgender people are present in our community, and we fully embrace them as members of our community. As organizations that care deeply about ending sex-based discrimination and ensuring equal educational opportunities, we support laws and policies that protect transgender people from discrimination, including participation in sports, access to gender-affirming care, access to school facilities, and access to inclusive curriculum. We firmly believe that an attack on transgender youth is an attack on civil rights.” 

The full letter can be found here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 230 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org .