Gender neutral bathrooms are a step forward

After years of struggle, which included changing the district policy, Chapel Hill High School will finally have gender neutral bathrooms, making the school a more accommodating environment for transgender students.

“I’m excited to find out that we’re finally getting a gender neutral bathroom, because many transgender people at this school, myself included, have not had a safe place to go to the bathroom throughout the day,” junior Grace Ingledue said. “This is definitely a huge step forward from when I was told just a few months ago that there was no possibility of a gender neutral bathroom at the school.”

There are many students at Chapel Hill High School who identify as transgender or genderqueer. Gender segregated bathrooms are often places of physical and emotional harassment for LGBTQ+ students, and extend the concept of heteronormativity. Gender neutral bathrooms are needed to create a safe learning environment for people who disrupt the gender binary.

This year, there was much excitement when an article was released saying that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) district decided to progressively interpret the Title IX legislation, which was created to enforce gender equality in schools. CHCCS interprets that to mean equality for all genders, which creates a need to have bathrooms facilities that are safe and accessible for everyone. All middle and high schools in the CHCCS district will soon be implementing gender neutral bathrooms. But what does that mean for Chapel Hill High School?

“We have worked out a plan with the facilities department to convert two restrooms to gender neutral restrooms,” Principal Sulura Jackson said in response to an our email. “The facilities department is working on converting our bathrooms as we speak.”

Although the official plans have not been released, Jackson assured the QSA that the specifics regarding the opening of the bathrooms will be released at a later date.

“Our plan is to share the opening closer to when both areas are complete and ready for use,” Jackson said. “The opening date will be made public to all stakeholders as soon as we have a definite date when the renovations have been completed.”

This is a time to celebrate achievements, and the QSA wants to thank everyone who has supported the LGBTQ+ community. However, there is still a long way to go before transgender and gender nonconforming people are treated equally in our school system.

CHHSQSA@gmail.com