#kahuku
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
Joe Wilson, Coordinator
c: 808-629-9864
Transgender Leaders to Deliver a Petition with Thousands of Signatures Calling on the Hawaii Department of Education to Respect and Protect Transgender Students
WHAT: Prominent transgender figures including fashion designer Ari South, soccer and film star Jaiyah Saelua, and teacher and cultural practitioner Hina Wong-Kalu will gather with local transgender students and their families and community supporters to express the urgent need, and offer a strong show of support, for the Hawaii Department of Education to establish guidelines and training to ensure that students across the gender spectrum are respected and protected in schools.
“This is so important for our keiki that I’m going to the DOE instead of the White House this week,” said Wong-Kalu, who was recently selected to receive an Asian American - Pacific Islander Champion of Change award in Washington DC this week.
WHEN: 1:00pm, Tuesday, May 3, 2016
WHERE: Front steps of the Hawaii State Department of Education, Queen Liliuokalani Bldg., 1390 Miller Street, Honolulu, HI
Background:
A growing number of stories about transgender students facing discrimination in Hawaii public schools underscore the need for fair and consistent treatment district wide. The petitioners, recognizing the courageous leadership of the Board of Education in providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students, are holding this event to demonstrate the broad interest in these concerns and the growing public support for expeditious action.
The petition requests the DOE to establish a clear set of guidelines, consistent with its existing anti-discrimination policy, to ensure that all students are safe, included and respected in school, regardless of their gender identity or expression, and to conduct training and educational activities to ensure that these guidelines are known and implemented, and that students have the opportunity to express themselves and live authentically. The DOE is urged to study the policies and best practices, such as those presented in the CaliforniaandGLSEN transgender model district policies, that have been adopted by school districts across the country without any incidents of confusion, harassment, or inappropriate behavior. The United States Department of Education has advised schools that failure to treat students consistent with their gender identity leaves them open to legal prosecution under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Additional Participants Expected:
Jennea Purcell and Berlin Scott – Transgender Kahuku High School student and her mother
Wendy Wink – Parent of second grade transgender student in Honolulu elementary school
Sinan Sison & Cathy Kapua – Kuaʻana Transgender Services Project of the Life Foundation
Laila Villanueva Ireland – Transgender nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center
Camaron Miyamoto – University of Hawaii at Manoa LGBT Student Services Coordinator
Seepetition, and Civil Beat article “Hawaii Schools Need a Transgender Policy Now”
Jennea’s story is a potent reminder of the difficulties that transgender youth face in school, and the need for clear and consistent policies and training that protect their right to a safe, respectful and inclusive learning environment.
Hawaii, which is fortunate to possess a rich cultural tradition that embraces gender diversity, has at least a basic framework of laws that protect people across the gender spectrum. But the state legislation that explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression in employment, public accommodations, and housing does not yet encompass schools. And although the State Department of Education has a general policy, there is no further guidance on what would constitute discrimination in a school setting. This absence of any specific rules or training by the Department of Education left Jennea’s principal free to interpret the regulations according to her own beliefs.
Nationwide, the majority of school districts have yet to offer any consideration whatsoever for transgender and gender nonconforming students. Worse, many states, including Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin, are now considering legislation that would bring the same sort of discriminatory measures - made infamous by North Carolina’s recent “bathroom bill” - specifically to schools. The Wisconsin bill goes so far as to require school boards to designate each changing room in their facilities “for the exclusive use of pupils of one sex… as determined by an individual’s chromosomes.”
This lack of protection leaves transgender youth vulnerable to discrimination and mistreatment. Not surprisingly, ninety percent of them feel unsafe at school, and one-in-three have been physically assaulted. More than half have at some point avoided going to school due to harassment, and one-in-six have left school altogether, losing their best shot at a solid future.
It doesn’t have to be this way. School districts around the country have developed guidelines and best practices, such as those presented in GLSEN’s transgender model district policy, that protect the right of all students to a safe and secure education. A recent study of seventeen school districts, covering 600,000 students, that implemented such protections did not reveal a single incidence of the “confusion, harassment, or inappropriate behavior” that conservatives had predicted. Indeed, the United States Department of Education has advised schools that failure to treat students consistent with their gender identity leaves them open to legal prosecution under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Since Jennea’s video first appeared on Youtube, other students, teachers, and counselors, as well as a highly placed administrator, have come forth to corroborate her experiences at Kahuku High School. Fortunately, Jennea is a strong young woman, with a wonderfully supportive family and friends, and was able to complete all senior year requirements and receive her diploma with the same date as her classmates.
But a diploma is no substitute for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk at graduation, or the joy of appearing with your friends in a viral video. Those are gone forever.
This is why we started an online petition calling for the Hawaii Department of Education to establish clear and consistent guidance that will ensure that all students are safe, included and respected in school, regardless of their gender identity or expression. They should also conduct training, professional development and educational activities to ensure that this policy is known and implemented, and that teachers have the knowledge and tools they need to do right by their students.
As opponents of fairness and equality stir fear about transgender people for political purposes, it’s up to open-minded places like Hawaii to demonstrate that respect for diversity and inclusion across the gender spectrum is not just right, it makes us stronger.
You can help by signing this petition.
A growing number of stories in which transgender students face discrimination at the hands of Hawaii public school officials underscores the need for fair and consistent treatment district-wide.
ByDean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu - April 20, 2011:
More and more transgender and gender nonconforming youth are finding the courage to express their authentic identity. They deserve the same access to education as every other child in Hawaii’s schools. But as Jennea’s story in the video below and many others like it clearly show, they are instead being singled out for harassment and discrimination — not by other students, but by the very school officials who are supposed to serve and protect them.
The central problem is the Hawaii Department of Education, which has failed to establish a transgender policy, neglected training and education on this subject and ignored existing civil rights law.
It’s not for lack of knowledge of the issue. According to the DOE’s own documents, numerous principals have requested guidance on addressing the needs of transgender students. Just last week, both the local and national news spotlighted the mother of a transgender child in a Hawaii elementary school who suffered unnecessary heartache and chaos due to the lack of any DOE guidance.
The DOE’s response to the story was “we’re working on it,” which — given that it issued precisely the same claim five months ago, one year ago, two years before that, and so on ad infinitum — is about as believable as “we had a policy, but the dog ate it.”
Nor can DOE’s negligence be attributed to lack of suitable models. School districts around the country have developed reputable, field-tested policies and best practices around gender diversity that could be immediately provided to educators and administrators. And Hawaii is fortunate to have culturally-based curriculum materials for anti-bias education developed by local projects such as Growing Pono SchoolsandA Place in the Middle.
With graduation just around the corner, it’s time for the Hawaii DOE to promulgate a policy to ensure that all students are safe, included and respected in school, regardless of their gender identity or expression. The DOE should also conduct training, professional development and educational activities to ensure that this policy is known and implemented and to provide an environment in which students have the opportunity to express themselves and live authentically.
Kahuku High and Intermediate School — the institution that forbade Jennea to graduate as her true self — could act as a model school by publicly declaring that it will never again deny a student this right, and that in the future, students may participate in graduation and other school activities consistent with their gender identity.
None of this will give back Jennea the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk at graduation, or the joy of appearing with her friends in a viral video in which she was supposed to have a starring role. That is gone forever.
But Jennea hopes that going public with her story will help the next generation of students avoid the trauma and discrimination she faced, and build confidence in their own abilities and worth. You can help by sharing Jennea’s video and signing this petition.
Every student has the right to equal access to educational opportunity. But several recent incidents, including the denial of a transgender student’s desire to walk in the girls’ gown at the Kahuku High School graduation, demonstrate that the Hawaii Department of Education has failed to protect the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming students by not establishing an appropriate policy, neglecting to educate and train staff, and ignoring existing civil rights statutes.
We demand that by the beginning of the 2016/17 school year:
1. The Hawaii DOE disseminate and implement a policy to ensure that all students are safe, included and respected in school, regardless of their gender identity or expression.
2. The Hawaii DOE conduct training, professional development and educational activities to ensure awareness of and compliance with this policy and to provide an environment in which students have the opportunity to learn, express themselves, and live authentically.
3. Kahuku Intermediate and High School act as a model school by publicly declaring that students may participate in graduation and other school activities consistent with their gender identity.
The gender diversity policy and training shall, at a minimum:
- Provide students equal access to all activities that take place in the school, at school-sponsored functions, and on school transportation.
- Protect students’ right to be addressed by educators and in school records by a name and pronouns that correspond to their gender identity.
- Enforce existing policy that prohibits bullying, harassment and discrimination based on gender identity and expression.
- Provide equal access to all facilities that are consistent with the student’s gender identity (or a safe and non-stigmatizing alternative upon student request).
- Protect the privacy of students’ gender identity and medical information from others, including parents, guardians and other school staff, unless the student has authorized such disclosure.
- Mandate training for all staff members including teachers, administrators, counselors, social workers and health staff on their duties, responsibilities, and expectations under the policy.
- Provide opportunities for professional development to educate staff on the terms, concepts, and current developmental understandings of gender identity, gender expression, and gender diversity, and to build their skills to prevent, identify and respond to bullying, harassment and discrimination.
- Include anti-bias education for all K-12 students that includes age appropriate, culturally responsive, Hawai'i-based information and curriculum materials on gender identity, expression and diversity.
Every student deserves dignity and respect. We call upon the Department of Education to demonstrate its commitment to fairness and equality by enacting these measures promptly.
SIGN THE PETITION HERE.
Hawaiian Anti-Bullying Film to Screen at Libraries Statewide
An educational toolkit for safe and inclusive schools.
HONOLULU, HI, Sept. 14, 2015 - TheHawaii State Public Library System will present “A Place in the Middle” - a short Hawaiian film at the heart of a newbullying prevention campaign centered on cultural empowerment and gender inclusion - in a series of screenings at eight selected public libraries statewide from Friday, Sept. 18 through Wednesday, Oct. 28. (See list below for screening locations, dates, and times.)
Created by Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu, and directed by Emmy-winners Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, “A Place in the Middle” tells the true story of a young girl who dreams of leading the boys’ hula troupe at her Honolulu school, and an inspiring teacher who uses traditional Hawaiian culture to empower her. After each screening, the team will talk story with the audience about the film and educational campaign - supported by Pacific Islanders in Communications, Hawaii People’s Fund, Ford Foundation, and PBS Learning Media.
“We encourage our patrons to learn more about Hawaii’s rich cultural heritage through our libraries’ resources and programs,” said State Librarian Stacy Aldrich. "As community hubs, libraries serve as the perfect venues to host discussions that enable our patrons to connect, learn and celebrate Hawaii’s indigenous and diverse cultures.“
This one-hour program is suitable for students, parents, and educators interested in Hawaiian culture and community-based efforts to make schools safe and inclusive for all. Free DVDs and teaching guides will be available for participants committed to using them in their work.
"A Place in the Middle” Film & Talk Story Events
Sept. 18 (Friday) - 6:00pm: Thelma Parker Memorial Public & School Library (Kamuela, Hawaii Island)
Sept. 29 (Tuesday) - 6:00pm: Kahuku Public & School Library (Oahu)
Oct. 3 (Saturday) - 3:00pm: Kihei Public Library (Maui)
Oct. 7 (Wednesday) - 6:30pm: Waianae Public Library (Oahu)
Oct. 14 (Wednesday) - 6:30pm: Waimanalo Public & School Library (Oahu)
Oct. 15 (Thursday) - 6:00pm: Hawaii State Library (Honolulu)
Oct. 22 (Thursday) - 6:00pm: Hanapepe Public Library (Kauai)
Oct. 28 (Wednesday) - 5:00pm: Molokai Public Library (Kaunakakai)
For more information, contact Library Development Services Manager, Susan Nakata, at (808) 831-6878.
