There are many problems within the public school system as a whole, but there are ways to change that. While discrimination towards race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, etc. have been prohibited by FCPS, there are still actions among their staff that don’t reassure their goal of equality.
Within the Frederick County Public Schools student hand book, it states, “Gender identity is a protected status in Frederick County Public Schools” (FCPS). The purpose of this policy is to prevent discrimination, stigmatization, harassment, and bullying of students who are transgender or who are gender nonconforming, and to create school cultures that are safe, welcoming, and affirming for all students.” This action is very important to FCPS to be able to keep people safe and help their image of equality, though not everyone working for them feels the same.
Every experience for each student is a different one, but that difference can sometimes depend on the teacher. I myself had an experience with a teacher. Being non-binary and using they/them pronouns can be difficult for people to understand or get used to using in everyday speech, but that isn’t the problem. What is happening is some teachers were being reminded by people, and would respond sarcastically and hurtfully, mocking the notion of upholding the standard of equality within FCPS.
For example, small little comments can change an entire person’s mood in a second, so you have to think of the student being affected. A small comment like saying, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” is what you should do, not add a different tone to it which will change the meaning to someone else. Words have the power to hurt people in ways that even physical violence can’t, and an “Oh.. I’m soooo sorry” sarcastically commented to the individual is not a response which promotes this standard of equality. Words can dig deep and hard into someone and can cause difficult-to-repair feelings and pain.
More so, teachers complaining about you using a special bathroom because of your identity is another example of not upholding these values. The bathroom being “too far away” or the teachers always asking what you are doing in that part of the school when they could just look at your pass instead of making comments is hurtful and inconsiderate. These comments can change how someone really sees the person and how they think of themself, like they are an inconvenience, which is something that FCPS is against. In the FCPS student hand book it states, “Bullying, harassment, and intimidation based on perceived or real sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression is prohibited in FCPS.” This shows that teachers should not be making those comments of students because they present or identify differently.
These perceptions can really change someone’s view of themselves and others just because of the sly comments people and teachers make towards them. Just because the teacher might believe something different, doesn’t mean they are allowed to treat people any differently as shown in the FCPS code of conduct that everyone must follow.
Sources:
FCPS section 443 code of conduct
