The internal sense of who we are as a girl or woman, boy or man, as both or neither. It can align with or differ from sex assigned at birth. Forming gender identity is an individual process.

How people express gender identity, such as behavior, clothing, hairstyles, name, pronouns, activities, or mannerisms. Can vary depending on one’s culture as well as changes in social norms and expectations, such as shifts in clothing and hairstyles. Some people may not feel safe to express their gender identity openly, and may have an individual journey over time with how they express their gender identity.

What medical providers label children at birth based on medical factors such as external anatomy 

Describes people whose gender identities align with their sex assigned at birth.

Umbrella term that describes people whose gender identities are different from their sex assigned at birth.

Umbrella term that describes people whose gender does not align with binary gender (male or female). 

Describes people who do not identify within traditional gender roles and/or within binary gender

The letter that records gender on identity documentation: F (student identifies as female), M (student identifies as male), X (student identifies as nonbinary)

The name a student uses that affirms their identity. Avoid referring to preferred name with transgender and gender expansive students, as it can imply that addressing the student by their name is optional.

The word used to refer to someone in the third person. Personal pronouns are the specific pronouns that an individual goes by when others refer to them.

Describes who someone is attracted to physically, romantically or sexually (includes, but not  limited to Gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, asexual, demisexual, pansexual, queer, questioning, curious)

“Transgender” is an adjective describing a person whose gender identity or gender expression differs from the sex assigned to them at  birth or the gender listed on that person’s original birth certificate. “Gender identity” is just like it sounds – what gender terms (male, female, a combination of genders, or no gender) a person uses for self-identification. “Gender expression” is how that person expresses his, her or their own gender to others, whether through dress, behavior or other activities.

It is the expectation that schools, teachers and staff accept and affirm each student’s gender identity, thereby fostering a sense of belonging and providing equitable resources for excellence in learning. Schools must work to understand each student’s needs and prioritize their emotional and physical safety. While the goal is to continuously foster and encourage family involvement and partnership, to support each student, student safety and wellbeing is always the number one priority.

Policies, rules and practices based on gender can further stereotypes and create stigma, marginalization and exclusion for all students, not only trangender and gender expansive students. For these reasons, schools should review all gender-based activities, rules, policies, and practices—including but not limited to classroom activities, lines and groupings, school ceremonies, field trips, and school photos—and maintain only those that have a clear and sound pedagogical purpose. 

Students are permitted to participate in any such activities or conform to any such rule, policy, or practice consistent with their gender identity asserted at school. The Office of Equity & Belonging can address arrangements for privacy concerns on a case-by-case basis.

Any dress code or uniform policy shall be gender-neutral. Schools cannot enforce specific attire based on gender. Students have the right to dress in accordance with their gender identity, within the parameters of the dress code.

Students have the right to a Gender Support Plan. A Gender Support Plan can be completed with a student or parent/guardian and their school counselor or administrator. The plan identifies specific needs, requests and timelines related to affirming the student's gender identity. It also details confidentiality, student safety, facilities, parent/guardian involvement, and how the student wants to be addressed in class, in correspondence to the home, or at conferences with the student’s parent/guardian.

All students have the right to be addressed by the name and pronoun that affirm their gender identity. Purposely misgendering or inhibiting a student’s right to assert their gender identity violates RIDE guidance and PPSD policy and code of conduct.

Students, or their parent/guardian, have the right to complete a Gender Support Plan with a school counselor or administrator to identify how the student wants to be addressed in class, in student information systems, in correspondence to the home, or at conferences with the student’s parent/guardian, etc. 

Students may complete a Change of Student Information request form with a counselor, administrator or through the Office of Equity & Belonging if they wish to change their name or gender marker in Skyward or other student information systems. Students do not need a court-ordered or other legal name change to update their name and gender markers.

Unofficial, site-generated student records include classroom rosters, report cards, diplomas, and yearbooks. The name printed on these records follows what is in the student’s Skyward profile. Skyward is PPSD’s main student information system. 

When a student completes a Change of Student Information form, these unofficial records will automatically reflect their chosen name. On this form, students also have an option to update a “preferred name” only, which limits where their chosen name appears. 

The academic transcript is an “official” record, and PPSD is required to report students’ legal names on these records. If a student completes a court-ordered or other legal name change, then their transcript can be updated. Medical records must also include a student’s legal name. 

Students may choose which physical education and intramural teams they wish to join to best affirm their gender identity and expression. Students involved in interscholastic sports follow Rhode Island Interscholastic League rules: https://www.riil.org/page/3033

Transgender and gender-expansive students have the right to access facilities without barriers. Providence Public Schools students may use restrooms that best affirm the gender with which they identify or express themselves. Students who are uncomfortable choosing a male-segregated or female-segregated restroom may use all-gender or single stall restrooms, or another safe and non-stigmatizing alternative. Any single-occupancy restrooms must be available to all students. Similarly, students have the right to access changing facilities that best affirm the gender with which they identify or express themselves, and may request locker room accommodations, such as partitioning or a separate changing schedule.

Protecting transgender students’ privacy is critical to ensuring they are treated consistent with their gender identity. Failing to take reasonable steps to protect students’ privacy related to their gender identity, including their birth name or sex assigned at birth, may be a violation of Title IX when a school limits students’ educational rights or opportunities.

Parents/guardians may wish to create an IEP or Section 504 Plan to ensure accommodations and modifications are in place to affirm and respect their child’s gender identity. The IEP or Section 504 Plan would specify the transgender student’s unique needs and incorporate accommodations to ensure that the student is in the “least restrictive environment.”