Attribution:

Kyle Woodruff, is an Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at Farwell High School. He
received his undergraduate degree from Saginaw Valley State University in Physical Education and
History. He continued my education at Saginaw Valley and earned a Masters Degree in Educational
Leadership in 2015. Currently, working to earn his Specialist in Education Degree through Central
Michigan University.

Guest Commentary:

Let me paint a picture. You are 13 years old, entering high school for the first time. Taking the
next step to adulthood filled with decisions that will affect you and your educational career. Your body is
going through changes that you dont understand and you feel like you are a prisoner in your own body.
Society has placed pressures on you to act a certain way because you look a certain way, but you feel the
opposite. Your former friends are no longer friends because you act different and being different in
high school isnt cool. You are screaming inside for help but feel like there is no one that can understand
or try and help you with what you are going through, and you feel like you are being forced to conform
when all you want is to be accepted. Now also imagine you are in a school that doesnt provide the
opportunity for acceptance or even to feel comfortable with who you really are. Going through high
school is hard enough, but for transgender students it is extremely magnified.

With over 40% of the transgender population having attempted or succeeded in suicide compared
to less than 3% of the general populations, it is clear that students who have identified as transgender
struggle internally. Nearly 90% of transgender students feel unsafe in schools. With statistics this high it
is the responsibility of the school to try and make ALL students feel safe, not just those who fall into a
certain demographic category. Statistics show that when a student does not feel safe at school it not only
affects their education but affects their ability to develop meaningful relationships.

Implementing policy in support of transgender rights and the right for a student to feel more
comfortable in the school setting is what I am pushing for in the Farwell School District. Transgender
students are an extremely small minority in our area but it is on the rise. All of the districts in our RESD
currently have at least one transgender student that attends their school district. With a spike in
mainstream media covering this issue, it is safe to say that this number will increase. That is why a
proactive approach is best. Allowing for a policy to be implemented and already in place allows for a
smooth and seamless transition for those students who struggle with gender identity. By adding more
privacy in restrooms/locker room facilities, and with proper documentation from the student and parents
of the student who identifies as transgender, it allows not only the protection of the transgender student,
but for the entire student body population as well.

School districts all over the country have been implementing policies for transgender bathroom
policies for many year. School districts in Washington State and Los Angeles Unified School District
have allowed students to use the restroom that matches their gender identity. This was something that has
been implemented and have gone through without any incidents of abuse or harassment of students while
in the restroom. Farwell would look to adopt a policy similar to that of Washington State and the Los
Angeles Unified School District. With a policy that supports student who choose restrooms and changing
facilities that conform to their gender identity. Any student who requests further privacy of changing
facilities or restroom facilities will have access to use a private bathroom area. This type of policy
doesnt only accommodate those who identify as transgender, but anyone who wishes to use a private
restroom/changing facility. A policy like this doesnt disguise the fact that the school is pushing for
transgender rights, but it also doesnt exclude the rights of privacy for others.