MA Teachers Unions & Education Associations Team to Support Transgender Protections

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team

The largest teachers unions in Massachusetts joined with the associations representing Massachusetts superintendents and school committees to announce support for legislation to protect transgender people in Massachusetts.

The announcement comes as two local school committee members, the first openly transgender elected officials in Massachusetts, publican called on the passage of legislation in an OpEd published in Commonwealth Magazine online.

“Having the support of the state’s educators sends a powerful message to our state law makers. While state law already protects transgender students in public schools, this is a reminder that the implementation of the guidelines from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have been successful. We must now go one step further and protect transgender students and staff when they leave school and visit a hospital, public park, local mall or restaurant,” said Carly Burton, Freedom Massachusetts Campaign Manager.

The legislation is currently pending on Beacon Hill and would provide protections from discrimination in public places for transgender men, women and children in Massachusetts.

“We’re not protected from discrimination in the very government buildings we are expected to visit as part of our public service.Although we are both willing to share our experiences as transgender women, it wasn't a centerpiece of either of our campaigns and had nothing to do with the reasons we were elected. We were elected because of our strong work ethic, our passion for education, and our ability to make positive change in our communities,” wrote Jacquelyn Ryan, Tantasqua Regional School Committee Member and Lizbeth DeSelm, Melrose School Committee member.

Currently, there is no explicit prohibition on discrimination against transgender people in public places in the Commonwealth. This includes, parks, medical offices, restaurants and retail establishments.

State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz as well as State Rep. Byron Rushing and Denise Provost are lead sponsors of the bill.

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