BY AJ TRAGER
Michigan Capitol Building
LANSING – State Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, introduced much-anticipated legislation that will limit access for trans youth in Michigan schools.
The bill, SB 993, was introduced May 25 and seeks to amend the Michigan law entitled "The Revised School Code" to prohibit students, among many things, from using the bathroom of their choice.
"Sen. Tom Casperson today introduced a bill that will endanger the health and safety of transgender students, place Michigan's federal education funding at risk and subject our state to the same overwhelming backlash occurring in North Carolina and Mississippi in response to similar anti-LGBT legislation," Trans Advocacy Coordinator at the ACLU of Michigan Amy Hunter wrote in a statement.
The bill comes as a response to the Michigan Department of Education's draft guidance document, "Safe and Supportive Learning Environments for LGBT and Questioning Students," which, if approved by the board, would provide Michigan schools with optional suggestions on how to further support LGBT youth.
In a March 29 press release, Casperson said, "It is hard to believe that a state board, which is clearly out of touch with Michigan residents, got assistance from equally out of touch unelected bureaucrats to develop such a document to fundamentally change Michigan's public education system without the public's prior knowledge or consent. In the pursuit of social justice, this so-called draft guidance document creates numerous problems, from the elimination of parental authority and notification to threatening student safety and beyond. My bill would stop this policy dead in its tracks."
SB 993 legislation is number 200 in the nation aimed at legislating trans access to public facilities. The bill seeks to prohibit trans students from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity, endangers the health and safety of trans students and violates Title IX's prohibition on sex discrimination in public schools.
Regulations like SB 993 run counter to Title IX, a 1972 federal guideline protecting youth from discrimination in schools. Based on current leadership from the Federal Department of Education and the Department of Justice, if Casperson's bill becomes law, federal funding for Michigan schools may be stripped.
"Amy Hunter did research on how much federal funding is received," Jay Kaplan, ACLU LGBT special projects attorney, told BTL. "It's a substantial amount of money and this could potentially put that money in jeopardy. It's so wrong headed. Everybody should be treated with dignity."
However, the bigger issue is how legislation such as this would impact the individual lives of Michigan students.
Reasonable Accommodations
SB 993 suggests schools provide "reasonable accommodations" for students who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. After providing written documentation to the school administration or getting permission from a legal guardian, trans and gender nonconforming youth would then be subject to "othering" within their own school.
"There are so many misperceptions about what it means to be transgender. Transgender kids encounter bullying, harassment and rejection in schools all the time and then to have legislation like this that purports to be accommodating of their gender identity — but it's not doing so at all," Kaplan said.
Under Casperson's legislation, schools will be prohibited from allowing trans and gender nonconforming youth to use the "restroom, locker room or shower room designed for use by pupils of the opposite biological sex if pupils of the opposite biological sex are present or could be present." Limitations to bathroom access extend to all school-related activities including intramural sports and field trips, Kaplan said. A "reasonable accommodation" would include a single-occupancy restroom, unisex restroom or the controlled use of faculty facilities.
"The 'reasonable accommodation' proposed by Casperson is anything but reasonable. Transgender students — already at great risk from bullying, harassment and violence — will be placed at further risk by singling them out to be treated differently by their peers if this ill-conceived piece of legislation becomes law," Hunter said. "Casperson's bill accomplishes the exact opposite of what students in Michigan need: an educational environment where ALL students are safe, treated with dignity and respect for who they are, and encouraged to reach their full potential."
Perhaps what is most intriguing is Casperson's definition of "biological sex" which he defines as "the physical condition of being male or female as determined by a person's chromosomes and anatomy as identified at birth."
"There are preconceived notions about bodies and how people look, act and love," Kaplan explained. "It fuels the prejudice and stigmatization. We can learn to get past that. Why do we have to fit people into convenient little pegs? Let people live in accordance in terms of their gender."
The Michigan Organization for Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH), with the help of a three-year federal grant, is working with high schools in the state to establish stronger gay-straight alliance student groups. The group has also come out in strong support of the State Board of Education Guidelines for LGBT and Questioning Students.
"We feel that this bill endangers the health of some of Michigan's most vulnerable students and poses further risk to them should it be enacted," Shelly Hoffman, executive director of MOASH, said. "We are perplexed by State Sen. Casperson's definition of biological sex."
SB 993 was referred to the Government Operations Committee chaired by Sen. Arlan Meekhof, R-Ottawa County. Serving the Senate Government Operations Committee is Meekhof; Vice Chair Goeff Hansen, R-Muskegon; Mike Kowall, R-Oakland County; Jim Ananich, D-Genesee; and Morris W. Hood III, R-Dearborn.
Meekhof has said that Casperson's legislation would not be a priority for the committee and has no plans to hold hearings on the issue, but such a statement did not deter Casperson from introducing his legislation.
Casperson is no stranger to anti-LGBT legislation. In 2004 when he was a member of the state House, Casperson joined 73 representatives supporting a proposed ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage. The measure failed to get a two-thirds majority; however, the Michigan Marriage Amendment, a ballot initiative seeking to ban same-sex marriage in the state, later passed.
Casperson is running for congress in November. Many believe that Casperson introduced SB 993 as a political move to gain more support for his campaign.
"As marginalized groups gain more rights, the people who hate will do whatever they can to push back those rights. These seem like the last ditch efforts of desperate people," Hoffman said.
Read the legislation at https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2015-2016/billintroduced/Senate/pdf/2016-SIB-0993.pdf.
Call To Action
Equality Michigan has authored a petition against SB 993.
"We've all seen what's happening in North Carolina and we know what comes next. Trans students will be made targets for abuse and discrimination at school. School districts will be forced to choose between complying with Casperson's bathroom inspection law and federal civil rights law. Billions in federal education funding will be placed at risk. Billions more in economic activity will be lost as companies choose to do business in more welcoming and inclusive states. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can stop this dangerous and discriminatory bill dead in its tracks. You can help us do it," the petition reads.
To sign the petition, visit https://act.myngp.com/Forms/6967333175221618688?midqs=2114721500027158528&recipientId=wfM1iiZlx3FIU9RRdKyZ72&.
