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"Advocates Push DOE On Guidelines For Transgender Students" - Hawaii Public Radio
- Posted on 6th May
- Category: news
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"What’s Next for DOE's Policy on Transgender Students?" -- The Conversation on Hawaii Public Radio
- Posted on 6th May
- Category: news
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"Transgender Community Takes Petition to BOE" - KITV Island News
- Posted on 5th May
- Category: news
by Paula Akana - May 3, 2016:
HONOLULU - Members of the transgender community delivered a petition to the Hawaii Board of education on Tuesday asking for guidelines and training in Hawaii schools for working with transgender students.
Hina Wong-Kalu addressed the board, outlining what they sought in the petition, which over 5,400 people from around the world and Hawaii had signed.
“Calling on your leadership and calling upon the Department of Education to ensure that respect and protection is afforded to all of our students within our public education system, especially with regards to our transgender students,” said Wong-Kalu.
DOE officials say after six months, they have finally come up with a set of guidelines to deal with the issues. They are now being reviewed by the State Attorney General.
Wong-Kalu and her group were pushing for guidelines in place by this graduation season. The DOE says it will be closer to the beginning of next school year.
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"Seeking A Step Forward For Transgender Students" - by Todd Simmons, Honolulu Civil Beat
- Posted on 4th May
- Category: news
by Todd Simmons, May 4, 2016:
Setting aside a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to a White House ceremony at which you would be one of 10 Asian American/Pacific Islanders nationally honored by President Obama is no small thing.
But that’s exactly what Hina Wong-Kalu did this week so that she could personally express her frustration with the Hawaii Board of Education’s continued lack of specific guidelines governing how public schools and educators interact with transgender kids.
The transgender educator, hula instructor and subject of the award-winning documentary Kumu Hina, Wong-Kalu led 15 transgender community members and supporters in a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Department of Education and civil discussion at a subsequent Board of Education meeting, where they delivered more than 5,400 petition signatures in support of their position.
“All of our children are important,” Wong-Kalu reminded board members. “And they’re all counting on us.”
Transgender visibility has reached heights in recent years that few ever imagined possible. The very public transitions of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner and Chastity Bono to Chaz Bono, television series like Orange is the New Black, Glee and I Am Jazz and the popularity of celebrities such as Janet Mock and Laverne Cox have created wider cultural recognition of the obstacles most transgender individuals face in simply living their lives. That visibility also has birthed a growing and righteous sentiment that they deserve to be covered by civil rights laws and anti-discrimination policies.
One of the most vivid illustrations of that is the ongoing controversy in North Carolina over HB 2, a hastily passed state law that wiped away discrimination protections based on gender identity in the few jurisdictions where local ordinances had been passed. Scores of conventions and big concerts starring top performers have been cancelled or moved out of state, along with numerous plans by big businesses to expand or start new operations in North Carolina.
In a particular blow to the basketball-crazy state, the NBA announced in late April that it may pull its 2017 All Star game from Charlotte if the law is not repealed, while the NCAA said it may follow suit in eliminating the state’s ability to host 2017 basketball tournament games. That was followed by an estimate by Time Warner Cable News that the law has so far cost the state roughly $77 million in investments and visitor spending and about 1,750 jobs.
Continued Challenges Amid The Progress
But in a cultural environment where so much more finally seems possible for transgender individuals and the trans community, there are daily reminders of how difficult life can be for some of its most vulnerable members, both nationally and here in Hawaii.
In mid April, the mother of a Palolo Elementary School second grader went public with her daughter’s challenges. Wendy Taylor said young Kailey suffered completely preventable embarrassment in front of classmates and difficulties with school leaders who were unprepared for how to deal with a transgender student.
At Tuesday’s protest, Wendy said things are better now, in part because of the light shone on the case through local and national media coverage, including CNN. School leaders know that others are watching, she said.
Around the same time that Kailey’s story emerged, Jennea Purcell released her own story with local documentary makers Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, detailing her challenges, as a senior last year, at Kahuku High and Intermediate School on the North Shore. Purcell had transitioned from her prior identity to Jennea the previous school year, but said a new school principal didn’t support the change and refused to allow her to wear the regalia designated for women in the Kahuku commencement ceremony.
Heartbroken, she opted not to take part, missing her own graduation.
The seven-minute video of Jennea launched on CivilBeat.com had drawn more than 26,000 views as of Tuesday. Her story fueled the Change.org petition and signatures that Wong-Kalu brought to Tuesday’s press conference, which included not only support from across Hawaii, but from Australia, Canada, Japan, Brazil and numerous other countries around the world.
Jennea helped lead protestors on Tuesday, holding the hand of her mother, Berlin Scott, who beamed with pride. One year after her painful final days at Kahuku, she said, “I’m not as angry as I was. I’m just trying to move forward and doing my best to make a difference for others.”
Kaleo Ramos, a sixth-grade teacher who is transgender, says stories like Jennea’s and Kailey’s are more common than people may realize. A trans community leader who has helped lobby for significant legal gains at the state Legislature, Ramos said he regularly hears from students, parents and other educators struggling with scenarios they don’t know how to handle. While schools go over policies that provide protection against discrimination based on gender identity as part of overall annual training, that protection “is just not enforced.”
“There’s no specific training, and people just don’t know how to handle their situations in school,” he said.
Guidelines, Training And Enforcement
The fallout from such situations can be severe, Ramos said. He has dealt with situations that have included discrimination, falling grades and school attendance, suicide threats and actual suicide. In other situations, he’s seen students rejected by their families and peers gravitate to questionable adults in the community and even turn to prostitution.
“Hawaii’s not exempt from any of that,” he said.
Ramos, Wong-Kalu and other trans community leaders said they’re seeking three things from the Board of Education. First, establishment of guidelines that ensure the safety and success of transgender students — guidelines that provide more help to administrators and teachers in navigating an area that just a few years ago was treated far differently by most schools.
Second, training for school employees to enable them to successfully implement policy and guidelines. And lastly, enforcement. In other words, guidelines that actually provide protection rather than just collect dust on a shelf.
After the media availability, protestors made their way to the Board of Education meeting room and took a collective breath before stepping in, press cameras trailing.
And they were met with aloha. Hawaii State Teachers Association President Corey Rosenlee came over to shake hands and later offered supportive comments from the podium. Board member Patricia Halagao congratulated Wong-Kalu on her White House honor. Vice Chair Brian J. DeLima asked about the group’s petition, making sure there would be copies for individual members’ review.
For men and women who have too often found themselves outcasts, marginalized by schools and other social institutions that are legally obligated to treat them like everyone else, the simple civility of the moment was important. Though past calls for help haven’t resulted in the guidelines, training or enforcement transgender people seek, their appearance at Tuesday’s meeting seemed the start of a new dialogue, one where their concerns may finally be heard. And acted upon.
With so much at stake in the day’s events, Wong-Kalu said declining the White House invitation for the ceremony, which takes place today, was not a tough call.
“As much as I would be humbled and very honored to shake the president’s hand, this is my mainland,” she said in a quiet moment before the press conference. “I wouldn’t have been nominated for the Champions of Change recognition if I weren’t dedicated to the work that is keeping me here at home today. So it was never a question of where my priorities lie.”
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"Petition Calls for Hawaii Schools to Protect Transgender Students" - Hawaii News Now
- Posted on 4th May
- Category: news
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -May 3, 2016
Transgender leaders are calling on Hawaii public schools to develop guidelines and training to protect transgender students from discrimination.
Advocates with the Kumu Hina Project hand-delivered a petition Tuesday with more than 5,400 signatures to Board of Education members.
"It's about fairness, equity, and a sense of dignity for all of our students, transgender or not," said Hina Wong-Kalu, a teacher and cultural practitioner.
Advocates want the state to create guidelines to promote respect and stop discrimination across the gender spectrum.
"It's the feeling of inadequacy, it is the feeling of being less than, and it is the feeling of being unappreciated," said Wong-Kalu.
Transgender students in Hawaii's public schools are currently handled on a case-by-case basis.
"I think for any community that has been waiting for something like this, it could not be soon enough, so I understand their concerns," said Donalyn Dela Cruz, state Department of Education spokeswoman.
Dela Cruz said anti-discrimination policies already in place cover transgender students. For the last seven months, officials have also been working on draft guidelines which are now under review by the Attorney General's office.
"It's not just about bathroom situations, it's not just about athletics, but it's looking at how are we going to establish student identification records," Dela Cruz explained.
The DOE took a look at best practices from other states and relied on input from principals and various stakeholders.
"There's a need for it. We've been working on it, and at the end of the day, we want to make sure that when the next school year comes, that our schools have this guidance," said Dela Cruz.
Once the attorney general approves the guidelines, the DOE will notify BOE members and send the information out to schools.
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"Policy on Transgender Students Urged" - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
- Posted on 4th May
- Category: news
By Nanea Kalani - May 4, 2016
Local transgender community leaders and supporters are calling on education officials to implement policies and staff training to ensure the safety and fair treatment of transgender students in Hawaii public schools.
Kumu and cultural practitioner Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a transgender woman, said the lack of clear guidelines for school leaders has led to some transgender students being discriminated against, bullied and harassed in school.
“We have some very simple requests … and that is that consistent guidelines be established so that students of all genders are not only treated fairly, but feel safe, feel valued and feel appreciated in whatever school that they are in,” she said.
Wong-Kalu and a small group of supporters that included transgender students and their mothers gathered Tuesday at the Queen Liliuokalani Building downtown, where the Department of Education’s central offices are located.
The group delivered a printout of signatures from an online petition seeking a gender diversity policy and training for DOE employees. The petition, which had collected more than 5,400 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon, was handed to Board of Education staff.
“Hawaii is a place of aloha. And when we understand the meaning of aloha, we know that it is incumbent upon each and every one of us as people who call Hawaii home to understand that aloha can and shall prevail,” Wong-Kalu said. She was recently named a “Champions of Change” award recipient by the White House but chose to forgo the awards event in Washington, D.C., this week to be at Tuesday’s BOE meeting.
Wong-Kalu credited the experience of a recent Kahuku High &Intermediate graduate for prompting the petition. The former student maintains that she was denied the opportunity to participate as a woman in commencement exercises last spring.
DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said the allegations are false. Under BOE policy, graduates can be denied participation in commencement exercises only if they fail to meet academic requirements by a set date, fail to pay financial debts by a set date or fail to meet other reasonable conditions set by the DOE, such as not violating student misconduct rules.
Dela Cruz said the DOE has drafted proposed guidelines aimed at helping schools provide appropriate support for transgender students. She said existing BOE policies prohibit the harassment, bullying and discrimination of any student on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, physical or mental disability, religion, gender identity and expression, socioeconomic status, physical appearance and characteristic, and sexual orientation.
“What’s in practice right now when it comes to transgender students is administrators work with the student on a case-by-case basis,” Dela Cruz said. “The new guidance is really to provide an overview of the common issues that have been raised and the concerns that need to be addressed, as well as providing appropriate supports for transgender students and the school community.”
The guidelines — which took six months to draft and are currently under review by the state attorney general’s office — will cover such topics as access to bathrooms and other sex-segregated facilities, sports, preferred names and pronouns, and school records.
“It comes down to what the student feels comfortable with, and that’s why you can’t have a cookie-cutter-type guideline or policy, because our concern is each and every student,” Dela Cruz said. “The guidance goes beyond just what bathroom will the student be using. It’s ultimately ensuring that steps to support the student will take place at all levels.”
The DOE is scheduled to present the guidelines to the BOE’s Student Achievement Committee next month, and is looking to implement the guidance and training next school year. BOE member Patricia Halagao, who chairs that committee, told Wong-Kalu that the issue is top of mind and being carefully considered.
“We are prepared to avail ourselves,” Wong-Kalu told the BOE. “We also come with … other resources within our community to support you to the fullest of our ability in coming up with that which is necessary — guidelines and anything else that would aid in supporting our youth.”
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"Advocates Ask State For Clear Policies On Transgender Students" - Honolulu Civil Beat
- Posted on 3rd May
- Category: news
By Bianca Smallwood - May 2, 2016:
As graduation approaches for local high school students, transgender advocates are pushing the Hawaii Department of Education for policies to prevent incidents such as one last year in which a transgender student at Kahuku High School said she wasn’t allowed to participate in her graduation ceremony.
Transgender figures such as fashion designer Ari South, soccer and film star Jaiyah Saelua and educator and community leader Hina Wong-Kalu said they will deliver a petition Tuesday morning to the department asking it to establish clear policies protecting transgender students from discrimination, and guaranteeing all students respect and safety regardless of their gender identity of expression. The effort was organized by the Kumu Hina Project, a community educational campaign for gender diversity and inclusion based on Hawaiian values.
The DOE didn’t immediately return calls Monday seeking comment on its policies.
The Kumu Hina Project drafted the petition in the wake of several reported cases of transgender discrimination in Hawaii’s public schools. The petition calls on the DOE to conduct training, professional development and education activities that would assure awareness and compliance with the new policy.
And, in specific support Jennea Purcell, a transgender 2015 Kahuku High School graduate, the petition asks the DOE to declare publicly that students may participate in graduation and other activities with their gender identity.
Missed Opportunity
Last year, in a case that drew national media attention, Purcell said she was denied participation in the 2015 graduation ceremony as girl. At Kahuku High School’s graduation ceremonies, female students wear white gowns, and male students wear red gowns
“To my understanding I had to confirm if it was okay that I wear the female gown from my principal and she said it wasn’t okay,” said Purcell.
Kahuku High School Principal Pauline Masaniai’s office referred questions to DOE spokesperson Donalyn Dela Cruz who had not returned a call before deadline. Dela Cruz previously has been quoted denying Purcell’s allegations.
Citing local projects such as Growing Pono, A Place in the Middle and the federal Title IX civil rights law that prohibits sexual discrimination, supporters are urging the DOE to look to previous policies such as the GLSEN Transgender Model District Policy as a guideline.
Hina Wong-Kalu, one of ten individuals to be honored this week at a White House event titled “Champions of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling,” said she feels so strongly about the need for change here that she will forgo the White House ceremony to confront the Department of Education.
Wong-Kalu said that for Purcell, not participating in her graduation was a “lost opportunity,” as those times are when students are honored for their hard work and accomplishments.
Growing up in a school environment where she felt restricted from being herself, Wong-Kalu said that she wished she had the peer support that Purcell has received from her peers, and that the younger generation should be encouraged to be themselves.
“People like this should be able to feel comfortable in how they articulate themselves,” said Wong-Kalu.
She said that creating guidelines that would guarantee an environment where transgender people can be themselves would be a “step forward.”
“Basically, the petition is to push the DOE to push equity and fair treatment to all youth especially transgender youths, if they have arrived at a comfortable and confident place where they are aligned with their gender identity,” said Wong-Kalu.
The petition will be deliverd at 1:00 p.m. in front of the Queen Liliuokalani Building.
Purcell, reached by phone, said she wants a policy that treats all students fairly.
“I just want fairness and equality for all, especially for anyone who is ‘different’,” she said.
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Media Advisory: Transgender Leaders to Deliver Petition to Hawaii Department of Education
- Posted on 2nd May
- Category: news
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
Joe Wilson, Coordinator
c: 808-629-9864
e: QwavesJoe@yahoo.com
Transgender Leaders to Deliver a Petition with Thousands of Signatures Calling on
the Hawaii Department of Education to Respect and Protect Transgender Students
WHAT: Prominent transgender figures including fashion designer Ari South, soccer and film star Jaiyah Saelua, and teacher and cultural practitioner Hina Wong-Kalu will gather with local transgender students and their families and community supporters to express the urgent need, and offer a strong show of support, for the Hawaii Department of Education to establish guidelines and training to ensure that students across the gender spectrum are respected and protected in schools.
“This is so important for our keiki that I'm going to the DOE instead of the White House this week,” said Wong-Kalu, who was recently selected to receive an Asian American - Pacific Islander Champion of Change award in Washington DC this week.
WHEN: 1:00pm, Tuesday, May 3, 2016
WHERE: Front steps of the Hawaii State Department of Education, Queen Liliuokalani Bldg., 1390 Miller Street, Honolulu, HI
Background:
A growing number of stories about transgender students facing discrimination in Hawaii public schools underscore the need for fair and consistent treatment district wide. The petitioners, recognizing the courageous leadership of the Board of Education in providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students, are holding this event to demonstrate the broad interest in these concerns and the growing public support for expeditious action.
The petition requests the DOE to establish a clear set of guidelines, consistent with its existing anti-discrimination policy, to ensure that all students are safe, included and respected in school, regardless of their gender identity or expression, and to conduct training and educational activities to ensure that these guidelines are known and implemented, and that students have the opportunity to express themselves and live authentically. The DOE is urged to study the policies and best practices, such as those presented in the California and GLSEN transgender model district policies, that have been adopted by school districts across the country without any incidents of confusion, harassment, or inappropriate behavior. The United States Department of Education has advised schools that failure to treat students consistent with their gender identity leaves them open to legal prosecution under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Additional Participants Expected:
Jennea Purcell and Berlin Scott – Transgender Kahuku High School student and her mother
Wendy Wink – Parent of second grade transgender student in Honolulu elementary school
Sinan Sison & Cathy Kapua – Kuaʻana Transgender Services Project of the Life Foundation
Laila Villanueva Ireland – Transgender nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center
Camaron Miyamoto – University of Hawaii at Manoa LGBT Student Services Coordinator
See petition, and Civil Beat article “Hawaii Schools Need a Transgender Policy Now”
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White House Recognizes Kumu Hina Among “Champions of Change”
- Posted on 30th Apr
- Category: news
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of Communications
April 29, 2016
White House to Recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling “Champions of Change”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, May 4, the White House recognizes ten individuals from across the country as “White House Champions of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.”
During Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May, the White House and White House Initiative on AAPIs are celebrating artists and advocates who have used unique channels and diverse platforms to tell powerful stories, increase awareness around key AAPI issues, and encourage diversity and inclusion in all sectors of society. These ten individuals were selected for their leadership and tireless work to raise the visibility of diverse AAPI experiences and create dialogue around issues the community faces.
The event features remarks by Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady Tina Tchen, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu, and White House Initiative on AAPIs Executive Director Doua Thor. Panels with the Champions of Change will be moderated by Phil Yu, blogger of Angry Asian Man, and Jeanny Kim, Acting Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. Follow the conversation at #WHChamps.
See fill list of Champions of Change HERE.
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Transgender Student Unable to Walk With Graduating Class - ABC National News
- Posted on 23rd Apr
- Category: news
A transgender student says she wasn't allowed to walk at her high school graduation as a female, so she elected to skip the ceremony altogether.
Jennea Purcell, 18, says she was barred from participating in the graduation ceremony at Kahuku High & Intermediate School in Honolulu after transitioning from male to female, telling ABC affiliate KITV that she transitioned from "Jackson" to "Jennea" while in school.
"I was full-time female. I dressed like a female," Purcell told KITV. "I played the role as a female as far as the bathroom goes, yes, anything the females did, I was doing."
Traditionally, graduating girls at Kahuku wear white gowns and boys wear red. Purcell told KITV she wanted to wear the white gown and that's when things got complicated.
"When I talked to Pauline Masaniai [the principal of Kahuku], she was telling me that my choice is the male's choice and that's the only option I have."
Masaniai denies Purcell's allegations, telling ABC News, "She was not barred because of being transgendered. She was not barred because of the color of gown she wanted to wear. That was already approved."
Purcell did not participate in the graduation ceremony because of other reasons, according to Donalyn Dela Cruz, Communications Director of the Hawaii State Department of Education. She did not elaborate on the reasons.
"There has been no incident in which a student has been 'barred' from participating in commencement exercises based on gender identity," Dela Cruz told ABC News in a written statement. "Hawaii State Board of Education Policy 4540 states students shall be permitted to participate in commencement exercises if they:(1) meet the requirements for a diploma or a certificate; (2) have fulfilled their financial obligations; and (3) meet other conditions established by the Department of Education, which meet the standards of clarity, reasonableness, and justifiability."
Purcell admitted to KITV she struggled academically in her final year of school, but believed that she was on track to graduate.
Purcell is sticking to her story and says she plans to share it with the world through filmmakers with the Kumu Hina film project, according to KITV.
She's also started a petition on change.org, challenging the Hawaii DOE to implement reforms.
"My intention in making this film and having the petition is just to make sure that no other child, even if they're not transgender or part of the LGBT community, doesn't have to go through something like this. It's not okay," Purcell told KITV.
