ABSTRACT
The fight for trans recognition in schools is, in part, a fight over language. In the midst of these changes, trans youth are going to school, growing up, making and losing friends, falling in and out of love, experimenting with and claiming multiple identities, and negotiating and challenging social norms. In response, teachers, administrators, and school authorities are being called upon to develop and implement policies, practices, and curricula that can support the social, emotional, and educational development of trans students. But as many of the articles in this special issue of Sex Education document, not only do schools sometimes fail to live up to the promise to educate all students, they often actively discriminate against trans students, sacrificing their best interests to concerns from conservative parents and politicians. Fights over allowing trans students access to appropriate toilets and changing room facilities in schools are the most obvious case of schools’ failure to support trans students.
