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. Your role is to help the school in supporting the new student and making accommodations.
Instructions:
In this assignment, you will create a training guide for teachers and staff covering the following points:
• What do teachers and staff need to know about transgender issues in general?
Discuss what information will be important to include in the training you will be hosting.
• Research your state’s restroom or locker room laws and share the results. Will this guide your decision-making in how to address locker room/bathroom issues and developing school policies to put in place? If not, what policies would you encourage the school to put in place to safeguard the student?
• Justify your suggestions to the school administration! Let’s suppose a member of the Board of Education suggests the transgender student could “hide” and not disclose being transgender for their safety. Explain why this would not be a good solution. What are the costs of “hiding” for the student?