澳彩开奖

For 鈥淣oah,鈥� a simple trip to the school restroom was a stressful ordeal, one that brought on feelings of isolation.

When the 16-year-old came out to his high school classmates as a transgender male during his sophomore year, he avoided a confrontation with school officials by continuing to use the girl鈥檚 restroom at his North Carolina high school. But things changed the next year with the arrival of freshmen unaware of Noah鈥檚 story.

鈥淚f I were in the girls鈥� bathroom when one of the freshman girls saw me in there, they鈥檇 be like, 鈥榃hat are you doing in here? Get out,鈥欌�� said Noah, whose name has been changed in this story to protect his identity.

Noah would use the men鈥檚 restroom, but he would bring along a male friend to avoid possible harassment from other boys. There鈥檚 also a gender-neutral bathroom on the campus, but it was far from Noah鈥檚 classes.

One day, he used the men鈥檚 restroom rather than make the trek to the gender-neutral bathroom. As he left, the principal stopped him and told him he could only use the girls鈥� restroom or the gender-neutral bathroom.

鈥淚t was a huge thing in my head,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had no idea what to do. I tried to avoid using the bathroom as much as I could. But I鈥檝e heard stories of so many trans kids getting like [urinary tract infections] and having health problems from not wanting to go to the bathroom at all.鈥�

Fortunately, the bathroom policy was changed shortly afterward. Several students had come out as transgender at Noah鈥檚 school, causing restrooms to quickly become an issue. Under the new policy, transgender students were free to use the bathroom of their choice. Time Out Youth, an LGBT group, also provided training to school personnel, Noah said.

But many transgender students across the nation attend schools with bathroom policies that don鈥檛 respect their gender identity 鈥� and the issue has become a flashpoint in the battle for transgender rights. That鈥檚 why the 澳彩开奖 filed a brief last month in support of an American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a student whose school prohibits him from using the restroom that matches his gender identity.

The 澳彩开奖, working with numerous LGBT organizations, assembled accounts from transgender students to illustrate the ordeal they face at schools with exclusionary bathroom policies 鈥� a reminder during Transgender Awareness Month of the challenges to equality that remain.

鈥淪chool bathroom policies that deny a student鈥檚 gender identity are discriminatory and unlawful,鈥� said Rick Mula, an 澳彩开奖 attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by the Mansfield Family Foundation. 鈥淭hese policies stigmatize transgender students. They can cause transgender students to endanger their health by avoiding the bathroom all day, and they can contribute to stress that leads some to struggle academically or drop out of school.鈥�

Evie Priestman, a transgender male teen, also described how gender-neutral bathrooms can leave students feeling isolated.

鈥淯sually the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 restroom are close to each other,鈥� Priestman said in the brief. 鈥淪o if you鈥檙e hanging out with your friends and need to take a restroom break, you can normally all go together. But that鈥檚 not the case when you鈥檙e forced to use a gender neutral restroom. You have to walk to a different part of the building, and you feel left out. Your peers are going to one part of the building while you鈥檙e going to a different part of the building.鈥�

A transgender boy cited in the brief reported not using the school restroom for three years. Another transgender youth developed a weak bladder from avoiding the school restroom. A 17-year-old transgender girl dropped out of school due to issues surrounding her gender.

But the brief also includes the story of a Virginia youth that illustrates the positive impact of a policy that recognizes a student鈥檚 gender identity.

鈥淗is grades were good early in high school, but there was a huge drop in his grades when he was coming out partly because he was still using the girls鈥� restroom,鈥� said Beth Panilaitis, executive director of ROSMY (formerly Richmond Organization for Sexual Minority Youth). 鈥淯ltimately, he was allowed to use the boys鈥� restroom, and he ended up having a good amount of support in the school, earning all As and Bs his senior year.鈥�

As for students still facing discriminatory policies, Noah advises them to not give up hope.

鈥淚 know they feel alone right now, but there are so many people fighting for them that they don鈥檛 even know,鈥� he said. 鈥淐hange is happening little by little.鈥�