Transgender students deserve full inclusion in all educational opportunities, including extracurricular activities, and the bigoted, discriminatory policies being pushed by legislators in several states must be rejected, an open letter signed by 60 national civil and human rights organizations on Tuesday says.
The letter also urges state leaders to reject the attack on transgender students, and commit to advancing policies that support equal educational opportunity. Transgender students deserve the chance to succeed and thrive, just like any other student.
“As our nation moves forward with an increasingly diverse and engaged student population, it is imperative that gender identity does not become weaponized and used as a discriminatory ploy,” said David Hinojosa, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Now is not the time to turn back the clock on advances we have made in supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. Championing all students, regardless of their gender identity, is fundamental to achieving gender justice and growing as a nation.”
As the nation begins LGBTQ Pride Month, ensuring all of our nation’s youth have access to a first-class education that does not discriminate on the basis of their gender identity is critical. Mal-informed tactics that aim to roll back the advances that have been made in discussing gender justice issues must be defeated.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
