Beyond Bathroom Bills and the Gender Identity Debate: Complicating the Policy Conversation About Supporting Trans Students in Schools

Abstract

Schools and districts across the country have been thrust into the political limelight as they grapple with sometimes competing policy messages about the education of transgender and gender expansive students. Drawing on 2 years of survey data from families of transgender and gender expansive youth in one mountain state, this article uses critical trans politics to examine the ways the current policy climate aligns with the supports schools provide. Results suggest that parents desire policies and practices that transform cis-heteronormative school structures, and they recognize that policy is often limited in its ability to affect the material experiences of youth in schools. We therefore argue that a focus on bathroom bills and policies regarding trans accessibility have distracted from a conversation that needs to be elevated to address broader structural issues and should ultimately be driven by families and trans youth.