Chicago students can access bathrooms by gender ID

Chicago — Chicago Public Schools will allow transgender students and employees to use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities, according to guidelines released Tuesday by the nation’s third-largest school district.

The policy, which also applies to “gender non-conforming students,” covers all education opportunities, including overnight field trips, and allows for alternative arrangements if requested, such as a single-stall restroom or separate changing schedule.

“CPS, like much of the country, has become far more aware of the needs and experiences of the transgender community, and it’s crucial for CPS guidelines to reflect our commitment to promoting safe and inclusive schools,” district Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said in a statement.

The issue of which bathrooms transgender people use has become a focus in the national debate over anti-discrimination laws. North Carolina recently enacted a controversial law requiring transgender people to use bathrooms in state government buildings and public schools that match the gender on their birth certificates. Meanwhile, other major school districts — including New York and Los Angeles — already have student policies similar to Chicago’s. Last month, a Los Angeles high school opened the district’s first gender-neutral bathroom.

Chicago officials said the updated guidelines build on 2014 policy requiring schools to provide transgender students and gender non-conforming students with the same opportunities to participate in physical education, sexual health education, sports, clubs and school events. Under the new rules, administrators at schools will make confidential “support plans” for each student.

School officials consulted legal and medical experts in writing the guidelines and said individual accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students will also have the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun “corresponding to the gender identity they consistently assert at school.”

Nearly 400,000 students attend 660 public schools in Chicago.

Advocacy groups, including Equality Illinois, praised the move Tuesday as a way to promote equality.

However, the issue has generated opposition in Illinois before. Some parents protested in suburban Chicago when a transgender student, who was born male, sought girls’ locker room access. The girl filed a grievance with the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office after being denied unrestricted access. Federal officials found the district violated the student’s rights under Title IX and last year reached an agreement for her to use the locker room. The district has since put privacy stalls in both the girls and boys locker rooms.