Transgender Policy to go Before Cherry Hill Board of Education

Cherry Hill, NJ -- The Cherry Hill Board of Education will consider a policy that allows transgender students to decide which bathrooms and locker rooms they wish to use based on the gender they identify with, philly.com reports.

Parents or guardians must provide a letter stating the student is “gender nonconforming,” and if they don’t consent, it will be up to the school district to determine the student’s gender identity, according to the report.

School officials can also question a student’s gender if there is “credible basis for believing the student’s gender identity is being asserted for some improper purpose,” according to the report.

The Cherry Hill School District defines gender identity as “a student’s deeply held sense or psychological knowledge of their own gender, regardless of the gender they were assigned at birth,” according to the Courier Post.

The proposal is being considered to ensure all students have the same opportunities in educational and athletic programs, according to nj.com. By adopting the policy, the district would also comply with state and federal law.

Last month, the Cherry Hill School District approved a gender neutral bathroom, in part at the behest of senior Jake Hershman, the co-president of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance, according to the Courier Post.

The Board of Education will hold its workshop meeting Feb. 9 and its action meeting on Tuesday night. Feb. 23, at the Malberg Administration Building, 45 Ranoldo Terrace.