On May 1, HB 257 went into effect in K-12 public schools. But for us, transgender and nonbinary educators in the Salt Lake City School District, the effect has been felt for weeks. We feel compelled to speak as private citizens, not as representatives of the district or the schools we work in, due to the impact on our queer and transgender community in Salt Lake City.
We chose to work in this district specifically because of its commitment to equity. Salt Lake City School District (SLCSD) has a vision statement that reads “Excellence and Equity: every student, every classroom, every day” in addition to being the first “Dignity District” nationwide, with the commitment “to learning and work environments where everyone is treated with dignity.” Yet, SLCSD’s directive to have teachers give classroom presentations about HB 257 undermines its own commitment to dignity and equity, resulting in direct harm to transgender students, educators and their allies.
SLCSD created presentations for grades K-5 and 6-12 which stated that “new legislation requires us” to tell students they needed to use the bathroom of the gender they were assigned at birth. In the creation of these presentations, SLCSD failed to recognize the impact this would have on teachers, counselors, administrators and psychologists who were left with no support or resources to honor our own dignity. While the district’s recent newsletter stated that it would “remain committed to making sure our schools remain safe, welcoming places for all our students, families, and staff,” we were not provided with adequate means of support to do so.
Instead, we as transgender and nonbinary educators took on the labor to answer questions from coworkers on how to best support our students. With no district acknowledgment of the pain it caused us, transgender and nonbinary educators were also expected to give this presentation to our students, directly harming them and betraying our community when we know exactly what the implications are — 56% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Utah seriously considered suicide in 2022. The district did not recognize this potential for harm in any communications to faculty, staff or families.
We took it upon ourselves to create our own presentations filled with local and national resources, support systems and hotlines, crafted for both secondary and elementary communities — the resources to help fellow educators support impacted students and families that our district should have created. We shared these with the educators we could within our reach. Subsequently, we watched as some of our students’ fiercest allies and our schools’ kindest hearts experienced the chilling effect of the presentation: Pride flags, safe school posters and pronoun pins were fearfully stowed away. We continue to question: How does this make our district safe and welcoming?
In secondary schools, regardless of their gender identity, students questioned why this was the action the district decided to take when their friends in other districts were not subject to the same trauma and harm. Several stated they would rather the district make a presentation about vaping, drug use and truancy in the bathrooms instead — and stop targeting their trans and nonbinary peers. At the elementary level, young trans and nonbinary students already struggle to get peers and teachers to acknowledge and understand their identities. Many aren’t even “out,” choosing to be accepted simply for who they are without a label that could subject them to interrogation. Coupling this reality with the introduction of HB 257 means we have students of all ages, K-12, who had their right to use the bathroom become subject to classroom discussion.
We recognize that SLCSD needs to ensure they comply with state law and the specific directives of HB 257. However, the directive to give presentations in every single classroom created widespread harm and put educators in precarious positions to balance their “professionalism” with their humanity. SLCSD did not provide justification for choosing to present the presentations over the methods other districts in our state used to notify students of HB 257.
We call for SLCSD to recognize the impact that it had on transgender, nonbinary and allied educators, students, staff and administrators. The effects of this erasure by the district were unnecessary, undignified and dehumanizing. The presentations did not give us reason to believe our district’s stated values and vision statement.
Additionally, we need actionable, tangible changes to create safe, equitable and dignified environments for everyone who works and learns in SLCSD. We ask the district to contract a professional development session on LGBTQIA+ inclusion, preferably through a local organization. We also ask that SLCSD conduct a thorough audit of their policies in the wake of new federal Title IX guidance which states that sex-separated programs and activities, including bathrooms, cannot exclude a person from a space consistent with their gender identity.
We have seen displays of love and support for transgender and nonbinary students and staff both in and out of our buildings and recognize its positive impact. We hope that SCLSD can join in these displays and that these actions will hopefully ensure that our district’s transgender and nonbinary community never feels this way again.
(Photo courtesy of Rilee Pickle) Rilee Pickle
Mx. Rilee Pickle, MAT (they/she), is a high school teacher in Salt Lake City School District and a nonbinary lesbian. However, they wrote this as a private citizen and do not represent the district or the school they teach at.
(Photo courtesy of Breanna Taylor-Lof) Breanna Taylor-Lof
Mx. Breanna Taylor-Lof, M.Ed (they/them), is a transgender elementary school teacher in Salt Lake City School District. However, they wrote this as a private citizen and do not represent the district or the school they teach at.
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