The following is copied directly from Conejo Valley Unified School District’s (CVUSD) official policy, known as Administrative Regulation 5145.3, last revised on May 18, 2021. It is available at conejousd.org. It reads:
Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Students
Gender identity of a student means the student’s gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior as determined from the student’s internal sense of their gender, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the student’s physiology or assigned sex at birth.
Gender expression means a student’s gender-related appearance and behavior, whether stereotypically associated with the student’s assigned sex at birth. (Education Code 210.7)
“Gender transition refers to the process in which a student changes from living and identifying as the sex assigned to the student at birth to living and identifying as the sex that corresponds to the student’s gender identity.”
CVUSD Policy
Gender transition refers to the process in which a student changes from living and identifying as the sex assigned to the student at birth to living and identifying as the sex that corresponds to the student’s gender identity.
Gender-nonconforming student means a student whose gender expression differs from stereotypical expectations.
Transgender student means a student whose gender identity is different from the gender they were was assigned at birth.
“A student shall be entitled to access facilities and participate in programs and activities consistent with their gender identity.”
CVUSD Policy
The district prohibits acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility that are based on sex, gender identity, or gender expression, or that have the purpose or effect of producing a negative impact on the student’s academic performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment, regardless of whether they are sexual in nature, acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility that are based on sex, gender identity, or gender expression, or that have the purpose or effect of producing a negative impact on the student’s academic performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment are prohibited. Examples of types of conduct which are prohibited in the district and which may constitute gender-based harassment include, but are not limited to:
- Refusing to address a student by a name and the pronouns consistent with their gender identity
- Disciplining or disparaging a student or excluding them from participating in activities for behavior or appearance that is consistent with their gender identity or that does not conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity, as applicable
- Taunting a student because they participate in an athletic activity more typically favored by a student of the other sex
- Revealing a student’s transgender status to individuals who do not have a legitimate need for the information, without the student’s consent
- Use of gender-specific slurs
- Physical assault of a student motivated by hostility toward a student because of their gender, gender identity, or gender expression
- Blocking a student’s entry to the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity
The district’s uniform complaint procedures (AR 1312.3) or Title IX sexual harassment procedures (AR 5145.71, as applicable, shall be used to report and resolve complaints alleging discrimination against transgender and gender-nonconforming students.
Examples of bases for complaints include, but are not limited to, the above list as well as improper rejection by the district of a student’s asserted gender identity, denial of access to facilities that correspond with a student’s gender identity, improper disclosure of a student’s transgender status, discriminatory enforcement of a dress code, and other instances of gender-based harassment.
To ensure that transgender and gender-nonconforming students are afforded the same rights, benefits, and protections provided to all students by law and Board policy, the district shall address each situation on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the following guidelines:
Right to privacy: A student’s transgender or gender-nonconforming status is their private information and the district will only disclose the information to others with the student’s prior written consent, except when the disclosure is otherwise required by law or when the district has compelling evidence that disclosure is necessary to preserve the student’s physical or mental well-being. In any case, the district shall only allow disclosure of a student’s personally identifiable information to employees with a legitimate educational interest as determined by the district pursuant to 34 CFR 99.31. Any district employee to whom a student’s transgender or gender-nonconforming status is disclosed shall keep the student’s information confidential. When disclosure of a student’s gender identity is made to a district employee by a student, the employee shall seek the student’s permission to notify the compliance officer. If the student refuses to give permission, the employee shall keep the student’s information confidential, unless the employee is required to disclose or report the student’s information pursuant to this administrative regulation, and shall inform the student that honoring the student’s request may limit the district’s ability to meet the student’s needs related to their status as a transgender or gender-nonconforming student. If the student permits the employee to notify the compliance officer or designee, the employee shall do so within three school days.
As permissible by statute, given student’s need for support, the compliance officer may discuss with the student any need to disclose the student’s transgender or gender-nonconformity status or gender identity or gender expression to the students’ parents/guardians and/or others, including other students, teacher(s), or other adults on campus. The Board of Education of Conejo Valley Unified School District believes the interests of students are best served when District staff, parents and students work together to address challenges and concerns. Therefore, District staff is directed to make every reasonable effort to encourage students, as permissible by statute, to allow for their parents to be involved in the discussion of these issues. The district shall also offer support services, such as counseling, to students who wish to inform their parents/guardians of their status and desire assistance in doing so.
(cf. 1340 – Access to District Records)
(cf. 3580 – District Records)
- Determining a Student’s Gender Identity: The compliance officer shall accept the student’s assertion of gender identity and begin to treat the student consistent with that gender identity unless district personnel present a credible and supportable basis for believing that the student’s assertion is for an improper purpose.
- Addressing a Student’s Transition Needs: The compliance officer or designee shall arrange a\ meeting with the student and, as permissible by statute, the student’s parents/guardians to identify and develop strategies for ensuring that the student’s access to educational programs and activities is maintained. The meeting shall discuss the transgender or gender-nonconforming student’s rights and how those rights may affect and be affected by the rights of other students and shall address specific subjects related to the student’s access to facilities and to academic or educational support programs, services, or activities, including, but not limited to, sports and other competitive endeavors. In addition, the compliance officer shall identify specific school site employee(s) to whom the student may report any problem related to the student’s status as a transgender or gender-nonconforming individual, so that prompt action can be taken to address it. Alternatively, if desired by the student, the school may form a support team for the student that will meet periodically to assess whether the student’s arrangements are meeting the student’s educational needs and providing equal access to programs and activities, educate necessary staff about the student’s transition, and serve as a resource to the student to better protect the student from gender-based discrimination.
- Accessibility to Sex-Segregated Facilities, Programs, and Activities: The district may maintain sex-segregated facilities, such as restrooms and locker rooms, and sex-segregated programs and activities, such as physical education classes, intermural sports, and interscholastic athletic programs. A student shall be entitled to access facilities and participate in programs and activities consistent with their gender identity. The Board of Education of Conejo Valley Unified School District is sensitive to the privacy concerns of students who are uncomfortable with the possibility of sharing bathrooms or showers with other students. To address these concerns, the district shall offer options to address privacy concerns in sex-segregated facilities, such as a gender-neutral or single-use restroom or changing area, a bathroom stall with a door, an area in the locker room separated by a curtain or screen, access to a staff member’s office, or use of the locker room before or after the other students. However, the district shall not require a student to utilize these options because they are transgender or gender-nonconforming.
In addition, a student shall be permitted to participate in accordance with their gender identity in other circumstances where students are separated by gender, such as for class discussions, yearbook pictures, and field trips. A student’s right to participate in a sex-segregated activity in accordance with their gender identity shall not render invalid or inapplicable any other eligibility rule established for participation in the activity.
(cf. 6145 – Extracurricular and Cocurricular Activities)
(cf. 6145.2 – Athletic Competition)
(cf. 6153 – School-Sponsored Trips)
(cf. 7110 – Facilities Master Plan)
“Refusing to address a student by a name and the pronouns consistent with their gender identity [may constitute gender-based harassment].”
CVUSD Policy
- Student Records: A student’s legal name or gender as entered on the mandatory student record required pursuant to 5 CCR 432 shall only be changed with proper documentation. When a student presents government-issued documentation of a name and/or gender change or submits a request for a name and/or gender change through the process specified in Education Code 49070, the district shall update the student’s records. (Education Code 49062.5, 49070)
(cf. 5125 – Student Records)
(cf. 5125.1 – Release of Directory Information)
(cf. 5125.3 – Challenging Student Records)
- Names and Pronouns: If a student so chooses, district personnel shall be required to address the student by a name and the pronoun(s) consistent with the student’s gender identity, without the necessity of a court order or a change to her their official district record. However, inadvertent slips or honest mistakes by district personnel in the use of the student’s name and/or consistent pronouns will, in general, not constitute a violation of this administrative regulation or the accompanying district policy.
- Uniforms/Dress Code: A student has the right to dress in a manner consistent with the student’s gender identity, subject to any dress code adopted on a school site.
