DVFriends Transgender Policy
Delaware Valley Friends School Transgender Policy
Introduction
Delaware Valley Friends School is committed to providing an educational environment that is safe, supportive, and nondiscriminatory for all students regardless of gender, gender identity, race, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, sexual identity, age, disability or marital status. As a Quaker school we celebrate each individual’s uniqueness. The School recognizes that gender identity can be fluid; this policy is an attempt to ensure school is a safe experience for all students. The School has adopted the following policy to address the specific needs of gender-expansive students. The School also notes that families are central to conversations concerning gender identity and gender expression; the School will be intentional in the ways that it partners with families in a manner that holds the student’s physical and emotional safety as the highest priority. Privacy considerations may also vary with the age of the student. This policy provides guidelines, but it cannot anticipate every situation that may arise. DVFriends will continue to thoughtfully treat each student and individual situation on a case-by-case basis, always with the student’s emotional, mental and physical health as the highest priority. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated (refer to the Bullying and Cyberbullying policy and The Approach to Student Accountability policy for more information). If at any time a student, parent, or guardian has a concern they are encouraged to reach out to the School. As specific situations arise, the School reserves the right to interpret and apply these guidelines in light of individual circumstances.
Definitions
Gender - Attitudes, feelings, characteristics and behaviors that a given culture associates with being male or female and they are often labeled as “masculine” or “feminine”.
Gender Expansive - is a term that conveys a wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or gender expression than typically associated with the binary gender (male/female) system. People may identify and/or express themselves in ways that broaden the culturally defined behavior or expression associated with one gender. Gender expansive often serves as an “umbrella term” for people who do not meet the “traditional” understandings of gender.
Gender Expression - Refers to the manner in which a person represents or expresses gender to others, often through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, activities, voice, or mannerisms.
Gender Identity - Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's sex assigned at birth or can differ from it.
Sex Assigned at Birth - Refers to the sex designation, usually “male” or “female,” assigned to a person at birth.
Sexual orientation - Refers to a person’s emotional and sexual attraction to another person based on the gender of the other person. Common terms used to describe sexual orientation include, but are not limited to heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bixsexual.
Transgender or trans - Describes a person whose identity does not correspond to their assigned sex at birth.
Transition - The process in which a person goes from living and identifying as one gender to living and identifying as another. Each transgender person has a unique process in which they go from living and identifying as one gender to living and identifying as another. Gender transition can occur at any age. It typically begins internally then expands to external expression. This can include social, medical and/or legal transitions.
Process for Transition
A student and/or family may request support from one of the School counselors or an academic administrator to plan for a student’s transition. A student or their parent/guardian may ask the School to start treating the student in a manner consistent with the gender identity asserted by the student. DVFriends will accept a student’s assertion of their own gender identity; there is no threshold for students to meet in order to have their gender identity recognized and respected. Students may choose to have their parents participate in the transition, but parental participation is not required.
Privacy
All persons, including students, have a right to privacy. This includes keeping a student’s gender identity private. Therefore, school personnel should not disclose information about a student’s gender identity to others, including the student’s parents/guardians and/or other school personnel, unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure or explicitly disclosed their gender identity in the school setting.
School personnel may encounter situations where students have not disclosed their gender identity. School personnel must be mindful of the confidentiality and privacy rights of students when communicating with others, so as to not to violate those rights by, for example, revealing, implying, or referring to a student’s gender identity.
Students have the right to openly discuss and express their gender identity, and to decide when, with whom, and how much information to share.
School Records
The School maintains an official student record that includes a student’s legal name and legal gender. To the extent that the School is not required by law to use a student’s legal name and gender on other school records or documents, the School will use the name and gender requested by the student and/or family. The School will change a student’s official record to reflect a change in legal name or gender upon receipt of documentation that such change has been made pursuant to a court order, or through an amendment of state or federally issued identification. In situations where school staff or administrators are required by law to use or to report a transgender student’s legal name or gender, such as for purposes of standardized testing, school staff and administrators will follow protocol to avoid the inadvertent disclosure of such confidential information.
Pronouns & Names
Students have the right to be addressed by the names and pronouns that correspond to their gender identity. While there may be occasions where students or faculty accidentally use the wrong name or pronoun, it is not acceptable at DVFriends for community members to intentionally and/or persistently use the wrong name or pronoun.
Restrooms
The School's facilities include bathrooms that are intended for individuals who identify as female, for those who identify as male, and single-user bathrooms available to anyone. Gender expansive students may use the restroom where they are most comfortable. No student will be required to use an alternative restroom because they are gender-expansive.
Locker Rooms
Gender expansive students may use the locker room where they are most comfortable. No student will be required to use an alternative locker room because they are gender-expansive.
Athletics and PE/Health
All students shall be permitted to participate in PE and interscholastic athletics in a manner consistent with their gender identity, under the guidelines set by the interscholastic athletic associations and leagues in which DVFriends competes. DVFriends is a part of the Penn-Jersey Athletic Association, please see their website for current policy.
Overnight Field Trips
For overnight school trips, gender-expansive students may use an overnight facility where they are most comfortable. Gender expansive students will be consulted in the planning process, to address any potential concerns and needs for privacy. If applicable, a student’s parent/guardian should also be consulted, unless there are privacy concerns in doing so.
A student will not be denied the opportunity to participate in any overnight trips or other opportunities based on their gender identity and overnight accommodations. No student should be required to be housed separately or in a manner that does not reflect their gender identity during any school sponsored trip or event. The School shall make all efforts to accommodate any student who desires greater privacy in overnight trips.
Education and Training
DVFriends conducts staff training and ongoing professional development in an effort to build the skills of all staff members to prevent, identify and respond to harassment and discrimination. In order to further a safe and supportive school environment for all students, the School incorporates education and training about gender-expansive students for students, faculty and staff.