Pride Message: LGBTQ+ Students Have Rights

Old Lyme teen librarian Nike Desis was on a mission: to figure out how to be a better ally for queer and trans young people.

So, on Wednesday night, they made the 30-mile trek to New Haven’s Ninth Square to take a deep dive into LGBTQ+ students’ rights, at a workshop hosted by the New Haven Pride Center.

The workshop, led by the Center for Children’s Advocacy staff attorney Mallory Sanchez at the Pride Center’s 50 Orange St. headquarters, covered topics like informal and formal name changes, bathrooms, bullying, discrimination, and Title IX protections.

Desis had found out about the event through the center’s Instagram. They are a teen librarian at a public library in Old Lyme and came to New Haven to learn about more legal protections for queer and transgender youth.

“As a support person in their life, I’m trying to get a better handle on what they’re experiencing at school,” Desis said. ​“I have a trusting relationship with many of them, but I think they could have another angle of support.”

Sanchez outlined the legal protections that queer and transgender youth have at a federal level, including Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. They pointed to a specific portion of the act stating, ​“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 

Highlighting the portion reading ​“on the basis of sex,” Sanchez explained that this language includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

Later, Sanchez explained certain rights that queer and transgender youth have under federal law. For example, they clarified that students do not need to legally change their name in order to use a new name at school. Teachers and staff are required to address students by their chosen name and pronouns, and the school is not required to notify parents about the name or pronoun change. Students are able to request a name change, and the school does not have to share this information as it is considered private information. 

Additionally, students must be free to use any facilities that are consistent with their gender identity, and any student who requests a more private bathroom must be given access to one. Lastly, Sanchez emphasized acts of bullying must be investigated, though they acknowledged that ​“investigations” can vary in precision across school districts. On the topic of name changes, Sanchez noted the limitations of current interpretations of queer and transgender protection laws regarding a school’s responsibilities.

“It’s not entirely clear what the school obligations are. It’s clear that a school doesn’t have to call up a parent of a student. It’s also clear that a school doesn’t need to get permission from a parent,” Sanchez said. ​“It’s less clear what happens if a kid is using a name or pronoun and then the parent calls up and says, ​‘Don’t honor my child’s identity.’

“Schools still have to follow federal civil rights laws and state law, but we really value parental rights in this country. And there’s no clear answer across the board for that.”

Sanchez said that if a school isn’t respecting the needs of a queer or transgender student, the student can reach out to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities or State Department of Education Title IX Office. Officials with these offices can reach out to school districts and administrators directly, on behalf of the student.

For aspiring teacher Alexandr Lavranchuk, the workshop was helpful in providing a more thorough understanding of the current rights, and limitations, regarding protections for queer and transgender youth. Currently a student at Connecticut State Community College, he wants to work specifically with queer youth and families in the school system.

“I had a very difficult and fraught time in the school system as a queer neurodivergent child,” Lavranchuk said. ​“So I want to be that good teacher. I want to be that person that was there that I [would have] felt safe with.”