Trans Kids Kicked Off School Bus In Upstate NY

[Carolyn Marie]

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Transgender-students-kicked-off-South-Glens-Falls-12219445.php

 

I like the way this incident was handled, by the students and the school admins.  Those kids had some allies on the bus, too.

 

Carolyn Marie

[tracy_j]

To me this is ridiculous as, even back in the day I caught the school bus, there was no segregation of pupils except that prefects usually commandeered the back seat (and took some responsibility for behaviour).

 

Tracy

[Carolyn Marie]

6 hours ago, tracy_j said:

To me this is ridiculous as, even back in the day I caught the school bus, there was no segregation of pupils except that prefects usually commandeered the back seat (and took some responsibility for behaviour).

 

Tracy

 

In my day, too, there was no segregation by gender, although kids usually preferred to sit with someone of the same gender.  The article doesn't say if this was established rule, or just something the driver imposed on his own.  In either case, he clearly violated policy by his behavior towards the trans kids..

 

Carolyn Marie

[VickySGV]

An irony to this incident is that a Trans* woman who is a member of Trans Chorus of Los Angeles is a school bus driver in San Clemente CA and is one of the most popular drivers with all the students, parents and administrators.

 

One thing that does bother me, probably about the newspaper reporting, is the part where it talks about students being outed to their parents prematurely.  Here in California where the Excellence In Education Act goes to the extent of mandating Rest Room and Locker Room access appropriate to the student's preferred gender, there is a requirement for the agreement between parents, students, and school administration that this is in the best interest of the student and also includes school work to be attempted for career and college preparedness.  Students and school staff cannot do the job alone. School counselors can provide support counseling for stress, and can help the student interact with their parents, but transition at school but not at home is not part of the mix.  A friend of mine who is a school counselor has run up against this a few times and while they are sad when they cannot let the student be their True Gender, they are limited in what they can do until the parent buys in. 

 

It sounds to me like the students, their parents and the administration were together here, which is the key to success in these cases.

[ErinLeach]

Sadly, there will be more instances like this to come. However, I do feel like we are moving forward to more and better acceptance.

 

Erin 

[Dev]

I applaud the school district for its handling of the situation all around.  They're not tolerating this kind of discriminatory behavior, but at the same time they're not immediately jumping to putting the bus driver in the cross hairs, either.  Now, that's not to say they shouldn't if he keeps it up, but leading softly with education is, to my mind, a much better approach than coming out swinging.