Guidance released to prevent transgender discrimination at public schools
Steevee Caulder is much like any Palm Springs High School sophomore.
She spent much of her day Friday studying for exams, involved in club meetings, and even getting ready for her first Pride Prom.
Steevee’s family said she’s also reached another first, by being the school’s first openly transgender person to be granted access to use public restrooms matching her gender identity.
Before coming out in August, she said her journey had its trials and tribulations.
“It was hell,” Caulder said. “I had to use the boys’ bathroom and the boys’ locker room. I had to play on guys’ sports teams. I had to cut my hair. I couldn’t keep it to a certain length. It was terrible.”
But Steevee’s teachers and parents have championed her journey.
The Obama administration is instructing public school districts nationwide to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.
The letter, issued jointly by the U.S. departments of Education and Justice, states that transgender students are protected under Title IX, which prohibits K-12 districts, colleges and universities that receive federal dollars from discriminating against students based on sex.
Which her teachers and parents said will hope to inspire other students to come out.
“It is definitely getting better,” Steevee’s teacher Anthony Tapia said. “Steevee is a pioneer. She is very courageous stepping forward saying who she is, and being comfortable. It’s a process.”
Her parents David Rothmiller and LD Thompson said they commend her for all she’s went through and accomplished in life.
“We are extremely proud to have Steevee in our family,” Rothmiller said. “I think that our role as parents, it’s important for us to remind her that she is loved, she is worthy, and she is a valuable member of our society.”
While Steevee and others say they hope to see more acceptance, as she continues opening doors for her and others in the future.
“I just want my community to feel that they can be confident in what they wear, and how they dress, and how they want to identify by,” Caulder said. “I want them to feel accepted in a community that didn’t know much, but now is learning. And I want people to want to learn.”
Los Angeles Unified School District officials threw their support behind the guidance released Friday.
The Palm Springs Unified School District released the following statement on Friday:
PSUSD, as is true with all California public school systems, has been working since 2013 to assure that the rights of transgender students are recognized. We have been using the guidelines provided through genderspectrum.org to educate administration, counselors, students and teachers.
The Desert Sands Unified School District released the following statement on Friday:
Desert Sands Unified School District has always worked with students to assure that they feel safe and that their individual needs are met in the learning environment. We await the documentation that will assist us in further implementing restroom and locker room use that is comfortable and safe for all of our students. The end of the school year is fast approaching allowing us the time to discuss options and ways to best implement a policy that will work at our schools.
In Texas, the state’s lieutenant governor said they are not going to go along with a directive from the Obama administration.
Steevee said she also achieved another milestone of becoming the first transgender cheerleader for Palm Springs High School.
