SC’s anti-transgender bill would further isolate students struggling due to COVID-19 | Op-Ed

The past year has been one of the hardest on record for young people, whose lives have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their social lives, education trajectories, and personal and cognitive development have been interrupted in ways that we’ll surely see the impact of for years to come.

As a public school teacher in South Carolina with a master’s degree in education policy, I’ve been worried all year about my students and students across the state. But now, as lawmakers consider H.3477 — a bill that would single out transgender students by restricting their ability to participate in school sports — I’m even more worried. I cannot fathom how some elected officials in our state could read the news, talk to any of their constituents, and decide now is the time to push a divisive bill that will further isolate transgender youth during the hardest collective period we’ve faced in a generation.

A recent survey showed that 35% of transgender students attempted suicide in the last 12 months, compared to 7% of students who are not transgender.

In the midst of the pandemic, it’s become clearer than ever that my job as an educator entails more than just teaching curriculum; the pandemic in many ways has shined a bright light on how far-reaching the social-emotional support that schools and educators provide is to our youth. The transgender student community has more acute needs met by their time in school: Many transgender youth are not accepted by family members or others in their communities, and so they often turn to school to seek acceptance and support. Multiple studies have found that having just one teacher take alliance with transgender youth can decrease their depression and suicidal ideologies vastly.

H.3477 does the opposite of affirming young people. It instead targets transgender kids and tells them they aren’t allowed to access the myriad benefits of athletics. It tells them they don’t deserve the same chances to learn teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership and self discipline as their peers. It tells them they don’t belong.

Beyond this reason to reject H.3477, I also worry that public schools’ compliance with the restrictions of H.3477 could amount to a breach of Title IX regulations. Schools are found in violation of Title IX when “harassment is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victims access to an educational opportunity or benefit.” If schools deliberately act with indifference regarding sexual harassment or discrimination, they are also in violation of Title IX. Passage of H.3477 would not only risk the social-emotional well-being of our transgender student athletes, but it also puts schools at risk for lawsuits.

I entered the field of education to be a mentor for the next generation as my teachers were for me. I don’t pick and choose which students I impact, and I hope to serve each of them to meet their unique needs.

Now, I ask lawmakers in Columbia: Think about an educator that valued your voice and inspired you in a way that impacted your future. In your role as an elected official, you have similarly massive power to inspire. You could pass this bill and fail transgender youth, sending a painful and dangerous message that will almost certainly make them feel scared and bullied by adults charged with their welfare. Or, you could do the right thing: Reject this bill, and work toward addressing the many real challenges young people across the gender spectrum face.

I hope lawmakers will come to understand that our school communities are stronger when we are accepting of all, and that we must oppose any effort to discriminate against people because of who they are.

Emily Mayer is a public school teacher in Bluffton, SC.