We live in odd, challenging times. For some transgender and nonbinary children, there has never been a better time to be a scholar: There are legal privileges, informed school staff and friendly families, and wonderful local transgender communities. There has never been a more challenging time for transgender children to be a learner. There are those who are confronted with anti-trans laws and regulations, as well as illiterate educators and supportless kids, and a small, if not active native trans community. The significance of advocating for and with transgender and nonbinary learners is crucial to ensuring that the transgender and nonbinary learners of today are able to develop into the wonderful adults of tomorrow as evidenced by the recent demise of Oklahoma trans youth Nex Benedict.
We wrote The Advocate Educator’s Book: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Nonbinary Students Thrive as two academics (one of whom is trans and the other of whom is cis and has a transgender child) to enable people to create change wherever they are, regardless of the current political or legal environment in a special school, area, or state. Using a platform of four principles — teach, claim, contain, and support — the guide explores common themes and lessons drawn from more than 50 interviews with trans youth, educators, researchers, families, and more.
The most important thing you can do to support trans and nonbinary students is to educate the adults who work with them and those who influence public policy. Teachers, administrators, school staff, and elected officials must have the knowledge and resources necessary to support trans and nonbinary students, as well as ensure that their education is ongoing and reflects the needs of their particular community.
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS)’s LGBTQ and sexual health manager, Booker Marshall, once only offered a “quick and dirty 30 minutes” on guidelines for supporting trans students. However, when LaTanya McDade, the CPS’s chief education officer, attended that training, she shared her own experience as a trans student working with a trans student while serving as the school principal and wished she had received more training about the experiences and needs of trans students.
Since then, the training has expanded to a webinar format offered to CPS’s 41,000 staff, which Marshall notes is “not just teachers, but everybody: administrators, central office staff, lunchroom staff, security guards, literally everyone is required to take it. We have activities that make people do something in the moment, such as sitting and reflecting, or updating your email signature to include your pronouns.
When it became clear that both CPS’s professional development offerings were useful to educators and relevant to enhancing student lives, the organization was prepared to start small.
You can contact your elected officials to find out what their views are on trans rights, and whether or not you are a parent or guardian, you can ask them about local schools’ policies on trans and nonbinary students. If appropriate, you can offer to help them learn and grow, check out The Advocate Educator’s resource guide for some books and links to get you started.
Proactively educating people is crucial because, at the moment, many adults only consider the needs of the first outgoing trans or nonbinary student in a classroom or school. This frequently leads to an unfair expectation that trans students, and frequently their families, take the lead in education for both their classmates and their educators and policymakers. Teachers should not be expected or relied on to teach adults about the needs of particular student populations, despite the fact that they are always learning from their students.
As trans student Stella Keating (she/her) shared, “Having my teacher essentially ask me to do the curriculum about trans identity for her because she didn’t want to get it wrong made me really upset because it’s not my job on two levels. One, it isn’t my job because I’m your student. Secondly, it’s not my job because my life isn’t educating everyone on being transgender”.
Unfortunately, there are some members of education communities who are uncomfortable discussing trans identity, don’t prioritize supporting trans students, and may even be actively trying to harm trans people. There is always something we can do to stop harm and try to bring things back toward education, affirmation, and inclusion, whether it’s one individual student making inappropriate jokes or picking on another student, a parent objecting to classroom discussions about LGBTQ identity, or an elected official or other policymaker trying to pass laws or policies that harm trans students.
When the people who don’t want to support trans students are other students, parents, or other community members, it may be helpful to slow things down, dig into the underlying concerns — such as confusion about what “trans- inclusive curriculum” means, or a worry that talking about LGBTQ identity will mean less focus on academics — and see if they can be addressed.
Along with fellow educators Lewis Steller and River Suh, Sam Long, a transgender educator in Colorado, started a project called Gender-Inclusive Biology. The project provides a number of resources, including advice on how to teach about biodiversity and evolution in a way that doesn’t overgeneralize
about the role of reproduction, parenting, and sexual behavior, and the fact that those are two things and that all are facets of any species’ behavior.
When asked about potential pushback from parents or community members, Long shared:
“When we conducted a lesson on reproductive strategies, we found the clownfish, where one of them changes its sex when one of them passes away, and some lizards who were living in an all-female colony but are stealing sperm from other lizards. I believe one student left the room and the parent inquired, ‘Well, what did you do today?’ And she said, ‘We learned about transgender fish’. The parent emailed me saying, ‘I didn’t know that this was in the curriculum’. So I sent her the entire lesson plan, but I didn’t hear back. I thought the parent’s concern was no longer the same once she realized what the lesson was about.”
And look, we are aware that a calm explanation or a patient attitude aren’t always going to work when it comes to anti-trans attitudes and beliefs. Not everyone who is “just asking questions” is doing so in good faith. Consider whether supporting trans and nonbinary students is important in keeping with a school’s mission or values if you have any doubts about this. Nearly all educational institutions have some underlying value or mission statement that speaks to the importance of all students, not just those who identify or support a particular political viewpoint, and which language may be useful in gaining support for trans and nonbinary students.
When politicians and elected officials seek to harm trans and nonbinary students, you can draw on more traditional advocacy tools: writing letters, making phone calls, collecting petition signatures, writing op-eds and letters to the editor, attending rallies, speaking at city council meetings or legislative hearings, and even meeting one-on-one with elected officials. For instance, did you know that you can request a meeting with one of their constituents online and look up their contact information online for their elected officials? USA. Find contact information for the officials who represent you on the federal, state, and local levels using the Go to.gov tool. Writing a letter to the elected official or speaking with their staff on the phone can still have a positive impact even if you don’t speak directly with them.
You can also check out ACLU tips on meeting with elected officials, Indivisible’s guide to writing an op-ed, or search online for your city and “testify public hearing” to learn how to share your voice at public hearings. Here are instructions from the City of Boston and the City of Chicago, for two examples.
While voices opposed to inclusive education may be the loudest, they often aren’t in the majority. We spoke with four educators from a school district in Massachusetts who declined to be identified out of concern that they might offend anti-LGBT organizations. In 2021, they collaborated to create a social and emotional learning (SEL) unit about transgender identities, with a focus on culturally relevant read-alouds, guided discussions of various student identities, and working with students to write poems on the theme of “I am…”
The program, which began in 2020 and focuses on issues involving race and racism, included providing additional resources and ways to learn more by monthly mailing student families with letter addresses. Additionally, they monitored feedback and input from the community. When we sat down and looked at the numbers, it wasn’t the majority of people, according to these teachers, who noted that “even if it feels like the negativity is constant and all around you everywhere.” Even though it seemed much more, the amount was actually much smaller. Some parents just want to have more information. They wanted their own learning. And so it opened an avenue to conversation”.
Ultimately, the program was successful enough (and received enough positive feedback from parents) that it has grown beyond focusing only on race (in 2020) to also include transgender identity (in 2021): The district now uses the same basic framework— relevant read-alouds, guided discussions, thoughtful activities for students and open communication with parents — to address a number of social and emotional learning topics including race, gender, equity, immigration, and more.
It’s also important to find allies, as there’s no need to be in this fight alone. There are almost certainly organizations in your community that work with and for transgender and nonbinary people. A great place to start is to search online for the name of your neighborhood and “support LGBT youth” or “transgender advocacy.” Reach out to organizations like GLSEN or PFLAG to find out if they have any recommendations for local chapters or ways to get involved if nothing turns up.
Advocating for Trans Students Should Also Include Uplifting Trans Joy
What is left out of discussions about assisting transgender and nonbinary students? Queer joy, according to Levi Arithson (he/they), program manager of LGBTQ+ equity initiatives at Denver Public Schools. “We really are relying on our damage-centered narratives, and we really miss out on the wholeness of our youth,” Arithson said. “I always say, ‘We don’t need our youth to be on the brink of suicide to be proactive.’ It’s not to say that the statistics about trans youth aren’t bad or terrifying. But it’s so much more than that”.
We must also consider the positive future we want to create, though it’s understandable to concentrate on worries and fears like bullying, poor mental health, or harmful laws.
Rachel Altobelli (she/her), director of library services and instructional materials for Albuquerque Public Schools, agrees. “There are just not enough everyday joyful, happy books featuring trans main characters where the point is not a coming out story or coming to terms. But just doing things: Going on a quest, solving a mystery, not liking the substitute teacher”, Altobelli said.
In light of this, we asked some transgender youth what gave them joy and hope for the future. Below are their responses:
“The best part of being trans or nonbinary is being able to express who I am without being constrained by my gender identity. I feel complete and amazing”! —Emma (she/her), 14
“I enjoy having other boys play for my baseball and basketball teams. I enjoy being able to be who I am.” —Lil (he/him), 10
“I hope that all the trans and non-binary kids will one day vote for candidates who support trans-affirmation.” —Griffin (she/her), 12
“Freedom to explore my gender.” —Zephyr (she/they), 8
“My friends and family who back me.” —Josh (they/them), 8
“Being myself.” —Ellie (they/them), 11
“It gives me hope that I can grow as I want to be rather than as I would like to be.” —Ian (they/them), 11
In every case, everyday people choosing to serve as advocates for their local communities will be essential to achieving those dreams. And while no one can do everything, everyone can do something.
