Coy Mathis, a 6-year-old transgender girl who was banned from her
first-grade bathroom, has won a statewide legal case in Colorado that
might have far-reaching implications for the rest of the nation in
protecting the rights of transgender children.
Coy, born a triplet, had been home schooled since last December, when
school officials told her parents that she could no longer use the
female facilities and ordered her to use the boys' or nurse's
bathroom.
Her parents, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis, with the help of the
Transgender Legal and Defense Education Fund (TLDEF), filed a
complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of Coy,
alleging that the school has violated her rights.
"This is amazing because it is not just a win for Coy, but a win for
every transgender child in the entire state," her mother, Kathryn
Mathis, told ABCNews.com today. "It's amazing for all of them and
their future. It lets them be who they are. They don't have to spend
their childhood being discriminated against."
According to TLDEF, this is the "most comprehensive" ruling ever
supporting the rights of transgender people to access bathrooms
"without harassment or discrimination." This is the first ruling in
the nation holding that transgender students must be allowed to use
bathrooms that match who they are, and the most comprehensive ruling
ever supporting the rights of transgender people to access bathrooms
without harassment or discrimination, TLDEF said.
Coy was labeled male at birth, but has always known that she is a
girl, which she has expressed since she was 18 months old. Since
kindergarten, Coy had worn girls' clothing to school. Her classmates
and teachers used female pronouns to refer to her, and she used the
girls' bathrooms, just like any other girl in her school.
In mid-December 2012, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8
informed Coy's parents that Coy would be prevented from using the
girls' bathrooms after winter break. The district ordered Coy to use
the boys' bathroom, a staff bathroom, or the nurse's bathroom.
Coy's parents removed her from school and filed a Complaint with the
Colorado Civil Rights Division on Coy's behalf in February, 2013.
According to her parents, Coy has behaved like a girl since she was 18
months old. When her brother Max was consumed with dinosaurs, she was
playing with Barbie dolls. By 4, she was telling her mother that
something was wrong with her body.
While enrolled at Eagle Elementary School in Fountain, Colo., the
6-year-old presented as female and wore girls' clothing. Her
classmates and teachers used female pronouns to refer to her, and she
has used the girls' bathrooms.
The Mathis' have a set of triplets and two other children, Dakota, 8,
and Auri, 2. The father, Jeremy Mathis, 31, is a former Marine who was
honorably discharged with injuries. Kathryn Mathis, 27, is a certified
nurse assistant and takes care of Coy's triplet, Lily who has been
severely disabled since a viral infection after birth. She must be fed
through an IV and is quadriplegic.
When Coy began complaining about "something wrong" with her body, her
parents took her to a specialist, who diagnosed gender identity
disorder. Doctors recommended no immediate medical intervention but to
let her "live as a girl," he explained. "They spoke to the school and
they said, 'fine.'"
Since kindergarten, Coy has presented as female. Some of the school's
bathrooms had no gender designation, but for those that did, she used
the girls' facilities.
Because Coy is so young, medical experts have advised that she not
undergo hormone therapy with an eye to surgery until she is in her
teens.
"We have spoken to various doctors to prepare for what is ahead and
they all say the same thing," said Mathis.
As for Coy, her mother said the little girl "does not get the enormity
of what the ruling means."
"She gets what he it means for her," said Mathis. "We told her the
lawyer was fight for us and the state has agreed with us. She was
completely ecstatic. Her eyes bugged out and she jumped up and down:
'I can go back to school and make new friends.'"
At the time, Coy's school district said, it had "acted reasonably and
fairly with respect to this issue," it said. "However [it] believes
the appropriate and proper forum for discussing the issues identified
in the charge is through the Division of Civil Rights process."
In December the school lawyers sent a letter to TLDEF that said: "The
district's decision took into account not only Coy but other students
in the building, their parents, and the future impact a boy with male
genitals using a girls' bathroom would have as Coy grew older."
While other students and teachers do not notice that Coy has male
genitals, the school said it feared as the child developed parents and
students would become "uncomfortable."
"...It would be far more psychologically damaging and disruptive for
the issue to arise at an age when students deal with social issues,"
the letter said.
Across the nation, schools are paying more attention to transgender
issues, but there is little uniformity.
The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination against
transgender students in public schools.
A report by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force paints a bleak picture of life as
a transgender person in the United States. The 2011 survey, "Injustice
at Every Turn," found that discrimination is pervasive in "nearly
every system and institution."
For More Info vist Here :http://abcnews.go.com/
0 comments:
Post a Comment