New Gender-Neutral Bathroom at East Hampton High School A 'Safe' Place Free From Discrimination

EAST HAMPTON, NY - East Hampton High School has taken a strong stand in the fight to keep all students feeling safe and protected as a gender-neutral bathroom was unveiled.

According to Barbara Boylan, advisor of the high school's Gay Straight Alliance, the GSA made a formal presentation to Principal Adam Fine in mid-January and had the green light shortly after that.

The lock was changed on a bathroom door and the Smart Sign company gave the district an "All Gender Bathroom" sign for free.

The GSA as a whole participated in developing the gender-neutral bathroom but two students led the charge, senior Nicole Lockwood and sophomore Gianna Gregorio.

"This bathroom is important because not only is it the right thing to do, but it also ensures that there is a bathroom where students who are gender nonconforming or transitioning feel safe and comfortable," Boylan said.

In July, 2015 the New York State Education Department, she said, issued the "Guidance to School Districts Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment For Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students," a follow up to the Dignity for All Students Act, which seeks to provide students with a safe environment free from discrimination and harassment in schools.

"The GSA consistently tries to champion the rights of LGBT people," Boylan said. "The members of the club felt passionate about providing the gender neutral bathroom for our gender nonconforming students. I think they reflect what their generation is embracing: Gender is no longer a binary i.e., male or female. The thinking on gender identity is much more fluid now."

Added Fine: "I am pleased that our students felt it necessary to have a gender-neutral bathroom. As a school we should do everything in our power to accommodate the needs of all of all students. This is truly a great addition to our inclusive school.”

"I think the world of our high school leadership and am so grateful for their efforts to create an environment of openness and acceptance," said Board of Education member Jaqueline Lowey.

East Hampton is taking the lead on the issue locally but nationwide, students at Sandee High School in Los Angeles, for one, have raised their voices in a "toilet revolution," to advocate for gender neutral bathrooms to protect transgender students, according to salon.com.

As the issue heats up across the country, civil liberties groups are firm in their belief that students are entitled to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity, according to an article in mlive.com. Title IX, the civil rights law that protects students from sex discrimination in K-12 districts that receive federal funding, extends to transgender students, those groups maintain.

But Republicans in the Michigan House of Representatives have criticized voluntary, draft guidance from the State Board of Education that aims to make schools more welcoming to students who identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender or questioning, mlive.com said.

According to Advocate.com, Kansas lawmakers recently introduced legislation mandating that any student who witnesses a trans schoolmate heading into a bathroom that doesn’t match the gender they were assigned at birth can sue their school for $2,500.

As ThinkProgress’s Zack Ford reports, the legislation applies to both K-12 and university students and covers all facilities on school campuses — including locker rooms and showers.

Those against gender neutral bathrooms say the legislation is meant to protect, according to the Advocate.com.

“Young adults have a reasonable expectation that postsecondary educational institutions in this state will not allow their students to be viewed in various states of undress by members of the opposite sex while using student restrooms, locker rooms and showers,” the bills read. According to the bills, encountering a trans person in the bathroom could lead to “potential embarrassment, shame, and psychological injury” for co-eds, the Advocate.com said.

But in the wake of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory’s sweeping new law that eliminates anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community, scores are protesting nationwide.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has banned all non-essential travel to North Carolina. The ban follows North Carolina’s enactment of a law which bars transgender individuals from using restrooms appropriate for their gender identities, excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from state anti-discrimination protections, and prohibits municipalities from extending those protections to LGBT citizens, according to his website.

The SAGE/RI (Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders) has stepped forward to ask all Rhode Islanders to take action and to contact the office of the N. C. Governor to let them know that discrimination will not be tolerated in America, Patch reported.

Transgender activist and journalist Dawn Ennis applauded East Hampton's gender neutral facility. "This is a great example of what schools across the country should be doing. The problem isn't that transgender people pose a threat to anyone, but that by restricting them to bathrooms matching the gender they were assigned at birth, schools would be putting them at greater risk of bullying, harassment and sexual assault. There's not been one incident of a trans person acting as a predator upon someone not trans in a bathroom, but trans people have been repeatedly and viciously preyed upon just for using the bathroom that matches their gender identity."

She added, "What's good about the East Hampton solution is that it allows not just trans students but anyone who wants privacy to have that space. In addition to transgender kids, there are disabled students with aides of a different gender. And there are gender non-conforming children who don't feel comfortable in either the boys or girls restroom. This is a good compromise for all involved."

For East Hampton High School graduate Joel Johnson, 20, the bathroom is "definitely a step in the right direction."

Johnson, who transitioned while a student at EHHS in 2012, used the nurse's bathroom or visitors' locker room, which were a "fine arrangement, but both in one corner of the school," which led to sometimes missing five to ten minutes of class in order to reach the rest room.

The school's administration, he said, has "always been on the ball about this."

While identifying male but still appearing female, Johnson said he felt "uncomfortable using men's or women's" bathrooms and often waited until school was over to use a rest room, leading to physical issues.

Johnson began hormone therapy at 16, meeting with a number of therapists and caseworker at a Brooklyn clinic, as well as an endocrinologist. "They want to make sure that you are really sure," he said.

When he told his parents, Johnson said his mother suggested taking some time to absorb the news before talking about it, but his entire family was soon fully supportive. He received similar support from friends at the EHHS Gay Straight Alliance, coming out after his sophomore year.

Today, Johnson said, "I forget I'm transgender. I totally feel myself. That's a cool feeling."

Johnson said not every student has the same experience; one student who came out as a sophomore was bullied relentlessly, despite support from school administrators, he said. "The administration did everything they could, but when it's 30 kids following you down the hallway, saying, 'You're still a girl!' what can you do about that?"

Johnson has won the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas award for his humanitarian efforts.

The bathroom issue, he said, is most important for gender neutral individuals. "I have friends who don't feel comfortable identifying male or female, which one do they use?"

Bridget LeRoy, Johnson's mom, lauded the new bathroom. "East Hampton High School has always been on the cutting edge of LGBT issues. Adam Fine, and the entire administration were so positive, helpful, and supportive during Joel's transition. And I'm so proud of the students who got this gender-neutral bathroom going. It's not that it was even a strong necessity in a place like East Hampton, which is very accepting, but it makes a statement for the rest of the country. It's going to be up to the youth to educate the older people who can't, or won't, understand how important this issue is."

Patch courtesy photo: Gianna Gregorio, East Hampton High School sophomore and GSA President.