PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

A Safe Space for All

A student’s transgender or gender-nonconforming status, legal name, gender assigned at birth, and/or related medical information shall be kept confidential in compliance with applicable State and Federal laws and as described in Policy 8350 - Confidentiality. District administration and staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s transgender or gender-nonconforming status to others unless legally required, or unless the student and/or their parent or legal guardian has authorized the disclosure.

Staff Communication

In some cases, there may only be one or two staff members who know a student’s gender story and directly support that student. It is up to the student and their family to decide who at school is informed. Schools must ensure confidentiality by adhering to FERPA guidelines.

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Substitute Teachers

To avoid harmful misgendering or misnaming, teachers should ensure that all information shared with substitute teachers is updated and accurate. For example, make sure attendance rosters, shared include accurate student names and pronouns, keeping in mind that not all students have their affirmed names and genders are updated.

Coming out to Staff and Peers

It takes a lot of courage and interpersonal strength to socially transition in school, and every student’s journey is unique. When/if ready, we want to support our students to identify a safe, individualized plan for how they will inform their teachers and peers about their transition if they choose to do so. Transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive students may request time to address their class about their gender identity and pronouns. Students may share this information with their classes based on the student’s preferences or as outlined in their Gender Support Plan. Students have the right to speak freely about their identity, but school staff does not.