Students | Transgender Rights | Connecticut

Yes. Connecticut public schools must allow all children an equal opportunity to participate in school regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (Conn. Gen. Stat. 10-15c).

In addition to Conn. Gen. Stat. 10-15C discussed above, on February 23, 2017, Governor Dannel P. Malloy issued Executive Order No. 56, directing the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, to develop guidance for Connecticut school districts on the rights, responsibilities and best educational practices for transgender students. The guidance document is designed to assist schools and districts implementing civil rights protections for transgender students under state and federal laws and to foster an educational environment that is safe and inclusive. See https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/TitleIX/transgender_guidance_faq.pdf?la=en.

该指南包括以下内容：

• 学校应该尊重跨性别学生的姓名和代词；
• 学校应尊重跨性别学生的医疗信息、曾用名等隐私；
• 学生记录上的姓名和性别应符合学生的性别认同；
• 跨性别学生应该能够使用符合其性别认同的洗手间、更衣室和更衣设施；
• 在任何性别隔离的活动中（包括体育运动），跨性别学生都应该能够以符合其性别认同的方式参与。

Also, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) views public schools and public colleges as public accommodations (see the section above on Public Accommodations).

Technically, the law only requires that schools give students equal opportunity to participate in activities, programs, and courses of study. It does not explicitly prohibit harassment or discrimination, although both would likely violate the spirit of the law.

Furthermore, at this time, the law contains no mechanism for transgender CT students or their parents to bring a lawsuit for violations of the law (see McPhail v. City of Milford, 1999 Conn. Super. LEXIS 428 (1999) (student could not maintain private right of action because statute was to be enforced specifically by the state board of education)).

Possibly. Federal law prohibits sex discrimination in public schools that receive federal funding. Depending on the situation, harassment of LGBT students may be actionable as sex discrimination (see, e.g., 雷诉安提阿联合学区案, 107 F. Supp. 2d 1165 (N.D. Cal. 2000) (stating that attacks based on a student’s perceived sexuality constitute sex discrimination)). Harassment of transgender students in particular is actionable. Several federal courts have held that the federal anti-discrimination law, Title IX, prohibits discrimination based on gender identity (see, e.g., G.G. v. Gloucester Cnty. Sch. Bd., 822 F.3d 709 (4th Cir. 2016) mandate recalled and stayed, Gloucester Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. G.G., 136 S. Ct. 2442 (2016) (deferring to DOE’s interpretation that Title IX prohibits gender identity discrimination); 教育委员会诉美国教育部, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131474 (S.D. Ohio 2016) (same)). Similarly, in 2016, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released a joint guidance taking the position that Title IX protects transgender students from discrimination based on gender identity; that Title IX obliges schools to respect a student’s gender identity and allow them to participate in sex-segregated activities and access sex-segregated facilities consistent with that identity; and that Title IX does not require a student to provide documentation or medical diagnosis before being treated consistently with their gender identity (see Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students, U.S. Department of Justice/U.S. Department of Education, available here.

Complaints can be made to your school’s Title IX coordinator, as well as to the federal Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, in Boston. In cases where a school has reacted with deliberate indifference, monetary damages may be available. A student’s constitutional rights may be violated by some kinds of discrimination and harassment.

解决这个问题的方法有很多。一种是向朋友、老师或咨询师寻求支持，并与那些困扰你的人交谈。但是，如果你觉得这样做不安全，那就不建议这么做。

查看学校的政策，并通知应该通知的人——通常是副校长或“第九条”协调员。你可能需要以书面形式记录任何骚扰或歧视事件。与相关官员会面后，记下你告诉他们的内容和日期，并询问他们何时会给你答复。如果他们没有帮助你或没有跟进，你可能需要写信给学区负责人和学校董事会，要求他们终止歧视。

同时，或在按照上述方式联系行政部门后，您可以向州教育部发送一份投诉副本。虽然他们没有明确的投诉政策，并且根据反歧视法不承担任何义务，但您可以要求他们代表您进行干预。请联系康涅狄格州教育部公共信息办公室，地址：165 Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT 06145。他们的电话号码是 (860) 566-5677，网站是 http://www.state.ct.us/sde/。

如果上述方法无法阻止歧视，您也可以考虑采取法律行动。联系方式 GLAD 法律问答 寻求律师推荐。

Yes. The law improved significantly in 2011 with the passage of Public Act 11-232, An Act Concerning the Strengthening of School Bullying Laws (Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 10-222d). Per the law, bullying is defined as repeated written, oral, or electronic communication, or physical acts or gestures by one or more students repeatedly directed at another student, that:

• causes the bullied student physical or emotional harm or damages their property;
• places the bullied student in reasonable fear of being harmed;
• creates a hostile school environment for the bullied student;
• infringes on the bullied student’s rights or substantially disrupts the education process or the school’s orderly operation.

The law also recognizes that students who are LGBT or are perceived to be LGBT or who associate with LGBT students are often the target of bullying (Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 10-222d(a)(1)).

Per the law, each school board must develop a “safe school climate plan” that:

• prohibits bullying on school grounds, at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, at a school bus stop or on a school bus, through electronic means (i.e. cyberbullying)
• prohibits discrimination and retaliation against an individual who reports or assists in the investigation of an act of bullying
• enables students to anonymously report acts of bullying
• enables parents to file written reports of suspected bullying
• requires school employees who witness bullying or receive reports of bullying to report it
• requires schools to investigate all reports of bullying and have a prevention and intervention strategy
• requires that both the parents of the bully and the parents of the victim be notified about bullying and told about the measures the school has chosen to take in response
• requires the school to notify the police about any acts of bullying that may constitute criminal conduct
• requires schools to maintain a publicly available list of the number of verified bullying incidents and to report this annually to the Connecticut State Department of Education
• requires all school employees to complete annual training on identifying, preventing and responding to bullying and to youth suicide.