Maryland joins coalition of attorneys general in supporting policy of protecting privacy of transgender students
BALTIMORE -- Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has joined 16 other attorneys general in a legal battle to protect the privacy and safety of transgender and gender-nonconforming students, according to state authorities.
Brown did that by adding his name to an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of Chico Unified School District in California and its school district policy of safeguarding those students, state authorities said in a press statement issued on Tuesday evening.
A parent with children attending a school in that district filed a lawsuit challenging the school district's policy of limiting school staff from unnecessarily disclosing a student's transgender or gender-nonconforming status without the student's consent.
State authorities say that a federal district court granted the school district's motion to dismiss the parent's claims, and the parent appealed the ruling.
Brown and the other attorneys general are urging the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court's decision to dismiss the parent's challenge to the school policy, according to state authorities.
"Transgender and gender-nonconforming students have a right to privacy and a right to decide how and when they share private information regarding their identity," Brown said in the statement. "I will continue to support the LGBTQIA+ community and their rights to make important and personal decisions regarding their own identity."
In today's brief, the coalition asserts:
- CUSD's policy and similar longstanding policies throughout the nation support transgender and gender-nonconforming students and their families by involving families wherever possible while honoring and encouraging students' ability to choose when and how to have gender identity conversations with their families.
- Transgender and gender-nonconforming students are vulnerable to abuse, suicide, and other forms of mental and physical harm because of the very real risk of being rejected by their families and due to a lack of access to gender-affirming environments.
- States have an interest in making schools a safe and supportive environment for all youth, and all students benefit from safe and supportive schools.
- Policies like CUSD's ensure a safe and supportive school environment, and a policy that protects transgender student privacy and preserves their trust increases their academic success and lowers their risk of missing school, dropping out, or committing suicide.