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What once was a one-page memo released in 2014 is now a 10-page set of rules and regulations for school staff, students and families, and it includes a full pronoun directive on how to properly refer to transgender and gender non-conforming students. The additions add to the New York City mandate that students must be allowed to use the bathrooms of the gender they identify with.
"It is important to note that for students who are gender-nonconforming or who do not prescribe to the gender binary, they may prefer gender-neutral pronouns such as 'they,' 'ze,' or other pronouns," the memo reads.
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Also included are ways to protect these students from bullying: "It is important for school staff, students and parents to be aware that transgender and gender-nonconforming students may be at a higher risk for peer ostracism, victimization, and bullying because of bias and/or the possibility of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about their lives."
Under Mayor De Blasio, NYC has hired its first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community liaison, Jared Fox, in 2016 and the city schools' first gender-equity coordinator, Kimberly Shannon, in 2017.
"It's about a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment," Fox told New York Daily News. "It's really hard to concentrate on English or math or social studies when you don't feel like you belong."
