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Push Made To Bring Gender-Neutral Bathrooms To Vermont Schools

08/30/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Kyle Giard-Chase went before the Vermont Human Rights Commission to request a formal complaint regarding gender neutral bathrooms in Vermont schools. Before any panicking begins, what Kyle is talking about is a single stall bathroom similar to many disabled bathrooms seen in older buildings. The single person bathroom would provide a safe space in a school for a teenager who is gay, lesbian, or transgender, and would also provide easier to access restroom facilities for many physically handicapped individuals. Kyle, who was born female but identifies as male, has faced intimidation and harassment when using the restroom at school. “When we talk about going to the bathroom we have a female bathroom and a male bathroom there’s no in between,” he said to Burlington’s WCAX interview is part of the story regarding this issue.

One of the commission members is paraplegic and discussed the issue with regards to his own physical limitations and the difficulty of his own wife has had helping him find proper accommodations. Commission Executive Director Robert Appel mentioned this. “One of our commission members is a parapalegic who uses a wheelchair and he talked about his challenge with his wife trying to find a bathroom that is available to him because the person who assists him in this biological function is his wife,” stated Appel.
Robert Appel also stated: “I would say that the commissioners were favorably impressed. I think it personalized the issue and brought some deeper understanding of the concerns of students whose identity is not consistent with biogolical sex.”

Kyle currently goes to Burlington High School which has gender-neutral bathrooms, but he is not just speaking on his own behalf. At a Queer Youth Summit earlier this year the issue of gender-neutral bathrooms was deemed as being one of the more important issues facing LGBT teens.

When I was attending Coastal Georgia Community College in Brunswick, Georgia, I was lucky enough that they had a single gender-neutral bathroom on campus. While it often meant that my brakes between classes meant dashing across campus to use the facilities it not only made my life easier, but made life easier for those who are uncomfortable with transpeople. It prevented harassment of myself while on campus.

What follows is the video from that report. With luck it should be working. If it does not work, here is the link to the story. Teen pushes for gender-neutral bathrooms