It can be easy to focus on what your state's law says or what the federal government requires when you're wondering whether there may be something that can be done if your child is facing unfair treatment at school. When your child is facing discrimination, bullying, or abuse at school for any number of reasons – their race, their sex, their disability, or any other “difference” – you want to know what can be done to put a stop to it. One very important source of student rights that is often overlooked is the school itself; school policies sometimes provide students with more rights than what state or federal laws offer.

The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team knows how important school policies can be when it comes to protecting student's rights. Schools can be required to follow their written policies the same way they can be required to follow federal and state laws. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your child's situation with one of our experienced student defense attorneys.

An Example From Maine

The Lewiston, Maine, public school district recently adopted a detailed policy regarding “transgender and gender expansive students” that requires schools in the district to “accept a student's assertion of their gender identity” when the student consistently or sincerely holds that identity “as part of their core identity.” The policy requires schools to do this even when the student's parents “do not agree with the student's gender identity or gender expression.” While the policy has generated some controversy, it provides an example of the way local school policies can provide students with rights that they may not have under federal or state law.

Specific Rights Provided by the Lewiston School District Policy

Aside from the right of students to be treated according to their gender identity despite their parents' disagreement, the Lewiston policy also provides transgender and what it calls “gender expansive” students with additional rights. For example:

• Students have the right to use restrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities that correspond to the student's gender identity asserted at school;
• Schools shall have a gender-neutral dress code (if they have a dress code);
• Students may participate in gender-segregated activities such as sports according to their gender identity, and school staff are required to support transgender students who seek eligibility to compete in Maine interscholastic sports according to their gender identity;
• School personnel are required to address students according to the name and pronoun that corresponds to the student's gender identity;
• While certain official school records may have to use a transgender student's legal name and sex, schools shall, at the student's request, use the student's preferred name and pronoun in all other school documents;
• School staff are encouraged to be alert to instances of discrimination, harassment, and bullying against transgender students and are instructed to notify school administration when they become aware of a problem;
• Schools shall follow the wishes of the student when it comes to disclosing the student's transgender status – including to the student's parents.

The Lewiston school district's policy illustrates how a single school district can create policies that give their students rights that the students might not have in other school districts, even ones located in the same state. This particular example relates to transgender student rights, but schools regularly adopt policies that can provide any number of other kinds of rights that can protect any student. That's why it's so important to closely examine the policies adopted by your child's school district or by their school when it comes to protecting your child's rights at their school.

The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help

The experienced education law attorneys who are part of the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team understand the federal, state, and local laws that apply when your child is being discriminated against or abused at school for any reason, whether or not it relates to LGBTQ+ rights. We'll also closely examine the school policies that apply at your child's school because, in our experience, we know that those policies often impose additional obligations on the school to protect students, enforceable ones that go above and beyond what the law might require.

Don't let your child's school get away with discriminating against your child or allowing repeated instances of harassment or abuse to continue! Call the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team today to learn more about how we can help you protect your child's rights at school. You can reach us at 888.535.3686 or use our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation.