Community Alert - RPS School Board & Superintendent Show Support for LGBTQ+ Students

RPS School Board & Superintendent Show Support for LGBTQ+ Students

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Last night at the Richmond Public School's (RPS) School Board meeting, the board introduced and reviewed preliminary revisions to the Student Code of Responsible Ethics (SCORE). The revisions included specific updates to policy language to incorporate LGBTQ+ students throughout the document. The RPS School Board consulted with Side by Side in developing this new inclusive language.

But there is more to do...

We are encouraging our RPS youth and families to attend the next RPS School Board meeting (Monday, June 3rd 6pm at City Hall) and wear purple to show your support for LGBTQ+ students!

We are excited to see the direction RPS is taking to embrace living into their values of equity and inclusion for all students. In the meeting we also called on RPS School Board members and Superintendent Kamras to take the necessary steps to develop a chosen name policy and an inclusive and affirming bathroom policy for transgender students.

Superintendent Kamras shared his public support for the changes in his RPS Direct email this morning:

"... we are including language specifically designed to affirm and embrace our LGBTQ+ students. For example, we are adding the underlined language to the following guidance: "Administration and enforcement of the dress code will be consistent across the student body, regardless of actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation, gender expression, race, ethnicity, and body size and/or type."

I want to thank Side by Side for their partnership on the SCORE revision. It's been invaluable. Last night, we were asked to take two additional steps, which I fully support: adding language to ensure that students are called by their chosen name (we'll add this to the SCORE revision) and ensuring that students of all gender identities and expressions have non-discriminatory access to school restrooms (we will work on developing policies for this over the course of the 2019-20 school year). The very least we can do when our students come to us every day is ensure they feel welcomed and loved for who they are. I am committed to ensuring that RPS is a national leader on this front."

We are grateful to have the support of Superintendent Kamras and the RPS School Board in moving these policies forward. We wanted to take a moment and share why these are so important to our youth.

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, 40% of transgender people reported having made a suicide attempt and 92% of these individuals had their first attempt before the age of 25.
Our own youth surveys reveal 60-70% of youth who attend Side by Side have seriously considered killing themselves in the last six months. However, when transgender youth are affirmed in who they are and supported by adults and peers, they can not only survive, but truly thrive.
A 2018 study by Dr. Stephen T. Russell found that simply consistently using a transgender youth's chosen name can dramatically reduce suicide and depression. This simple act of respecting a student's chosen name and identity can make a major impact in the lives of transgender youth. In fact, the study found a 65% decrease in suicide attempts when adults consistently used a transgender youth's chosen name.

There has been an ongoing national conversation about transgender youth and access to bathrooms. Gavin Grimm, a Side by Side youth, took his case all the way to the US Supreme Court to be able to use the bathroom that aligns with his gender identity. We know that many of our transgender youth opt not to eat or drink anything all school day to avoid the bathroom. And we know that they are often asked to use a staff bathroom instead of other facilities in our schools. We believe that students deserve to have a safe and affirming school environment where they can learn and grow. This must include access to safe and affirming bathroom facilities.

Finally, Side by Side is committed to not only working with RPS to see these policies become a reality but continuing to offer free training and technical assistance to our schools. We not only want to change policy, we want to ensure that policy is understood and implemented appropriately in all RPS schools. We hope you'll join us on June 3rd and continue to support Side by Side as we make positive change for youth and families in our community.

Thank you,

Ted Lewis, Executive Director

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