Story:
As transgender youth have become more willing to come out and families, health care professionals, and others have become more supportive and proactive, some people have pushed back, with bathroom and locker room rules and even laws that require individuals to use facilities based on the sex they were assigned at birth.
Questions:
1.)Imagine you are a social worker at a high school. The school year will begin in two weeks and the teachers have already returned. Your principal has just informed you that a transgender student is transferring into the school, having encountered significant bullying in their previous school. What do teachers and staff need to know about transgender issues in general?
2.) Suppose your state does not have restroom or locker room laws. How will you deal with those issues? Would your approach differ depending on whether the student were female-to-male or male-to-female?
3.) If the transgender student could “hide” and not disclose being transgender, would that be a good solution? What if it meant changing for physical education classes in a private area, using the restroom in the nurse’s office, and agreeing not to participate in athletic events? Would that make the student safer? What are the costs of “hiding” for the student?
