Schools
Local Group Pushing For Transgender Protections In Haverford Schools: Report
Havertown Area Community Action Network wants the school district to have an inclusive policy regarding transgender students.
A local advocacy group formed after the 2016 election is pushing for a new policy in the School District of Haverford Township that will be favorable for transgender students.
The Havertown Area Community Action Network (HCAN) recently flooded a district board meeting and pressed the board members to broaden its policies regarding LGBTQ rights to be more inclusive for transgender students.
According to Philly.com, the district has dealt with transgender issues on a case-by-case basis, but with HCAN's push the district could be adding more to include transgender students in its policies.
Find out what's happening in Haverford-Havertownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Some districts have created policies pertaining solely to transgender students, others have taken nondiscrimination policies and embedded language in there to protect and provide for transgender students,” Superintendent Dr. Maureen Reusche told the outlet.
Reusche said she's been communication with nearby districts that have transgender policies in place noted there are a number of issues, saying those need to be hashed out before the district can move forward.
Find out what's happening in Haverford-Havertownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
HCAN's push for inclusive transgender policies come on the heels of the Trump administration's scaling back of federal protections for transgender students that were set by the Obama administration.
With roughly 60 HCAN members attending the March 2 meeting and several attendees speaking out in favor of a new policy protecting Transgender students, the board promised a policy that specifically addresses transgender issues as soon as the start of the school year.
Board members said an inclusive policy will be adopted, but it will take time to do so as the board wants to work with various groups, such as the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and state education officials, before moving forward.
“I think we’re going to see this thing move, but not as fast as some of folks who attended the meeting last week want,” board member Larry Feinberg told Philly.com
Image via School District of Haverford Township
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
