As organizations committed to serving the best interests of all youth, we are deeply alarmed at the torrent of bills introduced in state legislatures and in Congress this year that would directly harm transgender people, and particularly transgender youth. These appalling proposals would compromise the safety and well-being of the young people we all have the duty and obligation to support and protect.
All of our nation’s young people deserve equal protection and treatment when accessing health care, and when attending school and participating in extracurricular activities, including sports. These anti-transgender bills promote discrimination and do harm to students, their families, and their communities.
Since state legislatures began meeting this year, we have already seen more than 65 bills introduced seeking to deny transgender youths access to gender-affirming medical treatment, preventing them from participating in sports teams consistent with their gender identity and denying access to sex-segregated spaces that include restrooms and locker rooms. Similar legislation is even being pushed in the U.S. Congress.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, is alarmed by the spate of anti-transgender legislation proposed across the country. We have found that less than a quarter of transgender and gender-expansive youth can definitely be themselves at school and only sixteen percent of transgender and gender-expansive youth feel safe at school. Every child deserves equal access to education, academic success, and a future in which they are empowered to fulfill their true potential, and these laws contravene that fundamental principle, which has long guided our nation’s education policy.
WORKING FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER EQUAL RIGHTS
1640 Rhode Island Avenue Washington, D.C. 20036
phone (202) 628 4160 fax (202) 216 1505 e-mail press@hrc.org
Transgender youth are already at a heightened risk for violence, bullying, and harassment. In addition, students who would be affected by these bills are among our most vulnerable to experiencing depression and engaging in self-harm, including suicide. These bills exacerbate those risks by creating an unwelcoming and hostile environment in places where students should feel the safest and most supported. Research has shown that when transgender youth have access to gender-affirming services, competent care and affirmation, their risk of depression, anxiety and other negative mental health outcomes is greatly reduced.
We stand in opposition to proposals that harm transgender youth, including limiting access to medically-necessary, best practice care, forbidding students from using the restroom at school consistent with their gender identity, and preventing transgender youth from playing sports alongside their peers. On behalf of our members and communities, we call on legislators across the country to reject these harmful measures.
Sincerely,
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
American Counseling Association
American School Counselor Association
Association of Title IX Administrators
Child Welfare League of America
Mental Health America
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Social Workers
National Education Association
National PTA
School Social Work Association of America