Transgender Bill for School Equality is Passed Into Law

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1266 which allows transgender youth to use whatever bathroom and participate on whichever sports team they believe matches their gender identity. This groundbreaking bill gives students in public K-12 schools the right "to participate in sex-segregated programs, activities and facilities" based on their self-perception, regardless of their birth gender.

Brown's move drew praise from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) community. During the debate on the bill there were many stories told of how students struggle to fit in at both school and in life and how passage of the bill will change their lives. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, the author of the bill, said "No student can learn if they feel they have to hide who they are at school or if they are singled out for unequal treatment."

His move also drew criticism from conservatives. California State Senator Ted Gaines, who represents South Lake Tahoe, says "I’m deeply sympathetic to their experiences and I would like to help that small minority of students who are facing those challenges. But the way to solve their problems is not to impose them on all of the other 6–million students in the state’s public schools. In addition, the bill provides no standards for the claims of a particular gender identity – no doctor input, no psychological recommendation, no advocate opinion or anything else is required. From day to day or hour to hour, students can flip–flop between identities as it suits them."

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District has no policy in place to address the bill as of yet. It doesn't take affect until January 1, 2014 so the district will evaluate the implications and act accordingly.