Schools offer lessons on accommodating transgender students

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — From locker rooms and sex education classes to dress codes and overnight field trips, many U.S. public schools already are balancing the civil rights of transgender students with any concerns that classmates, parents and community members might have.

Citing guidelines adopted by Washington, New York, the District of Columbia and Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, President Barack Obama's Education Department said schools could erect privacy curtains in changing areas, permit all students to make use of single-stall restrooms or work out other case-by-case arrangements as long as the burden doesn't rest exclusively on transgender students.

"The concerns for right to privacy and safety of children applies to every single child, including the transgender child," said Atherton's principal, Thomas Aberli, who faced community opposition when he first allowed a transgender freshman to use the girls' restrooms two years ago.

Since that first student, about a half-dozen more have come out as transgender, Aberli said.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference allows transgender students to play on teams that match their gender identities.

Since the policy took effect in 2013, a few transgender boys have played on boys' high school teams, said Karissa Niehoff, the group's executive director.