MIDDLETOWN - Township schools are preparing to enshrine rules on how district staff should interact with transgender students, a final step toward empowering students to live at school as they see themselves.

The policy was introduced at last week's meeting of the Middletown Township Board of Education. It will be considered at the May 1 meeting.

Practically speaking, nothing will change for transgender students in Middletown schools, according to the district.

Transgender students have already been free to choose the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity and to participate in whichever gender-segregated classes — boys' gym or girls' gym, for example — that they feel most comfortable.

See how Oliver Dickman, a teen who transitioned to living as a boy in high school, dealt with some of these questions in the video at the top of the page.

"Prior to the issuance of (New Jersey Department of Education) guidelines, our district created procedures to ensure a safe and inclusive culture and climate for our transgender students," Amy Gallagher, the district's business administrator, told the Asbury Park Press. "Our procedures, which the district has been following for years, are in alignment with the new guidance from the NJDOE and also the Strauss Esmay policy."

Strauss Esmay Associates is a private company that builds customized policies, including this one on transgender students, for school districts in New Jersey using direction from the state and federal regulators.

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What the policy says

The new guidance arose from Senate Bill 3067, which was passed in July 2017 and required the state education department to develop instructions for the sort of administrative questions that result when a student starts living like the gender they identify as, not the one on their birth certificate.

The legislation — and the guidance it produced last fall — was championed by Garden State Equality, the state's foremost LGBTQ advocacy organization, and the ACLU, but opposed by groups that generally resist expanding protections for LGBTQ people.

Q: Should schools use the student's chosen name, if it differs from their legal name?

A: Yes. Teachers and staff should refer to the student by the name and pronouns that the student identifies with. As part of this, the school should issue the student an updated ID card with their chosen name.

Q: Should a parent have to give their blessing for the school to acknowledge the student's wishes?

A: No. If a parent disagrees with their child's wishes, then the school should alert the school board's attorney. However, personnel are still expected to accept and use the student's gender identity, chosen name and pronouns, regardless of parental opinion.

Q: Which bathroom should a transgender student use? Which half of a gender-segregated class should they enroll in? What if this makes other students uncomfortable?

A: The student should use whichever bathroom they feel is appropriate. Likewise with whether they prefer to be in physical education class with boys or with girls. Accommodations, such as a unisex bathroom or private changing room, should be made for the student or any of their classmates who express discomfort with sharing a bathroom or locker room.

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A national debate made local

Three years ago, districts around New Jersey were crafting rules on how transgender students should use school facilities.

At roughly the same time, the state of North Carolina passed "the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act," a law that forced schools and other public places to limit access to single-sex bathrooms based on gender assigned at birth.

Boycotts, including one by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, drew national attention to the law and put pressure on state lawmakers to repeal the bill, which was finally withdrawn under a new governor in 2017.

President Donald Trump took issue with the so-called "bathroom bill" when he was running to be the Republican Party nominee in April 2016.

“There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate,” Trump said during a "Today" show town hall in Jersey City. “There has been so little trouble.”

Just a few weeks into his presidency, however, the Trump administration removed a directive from the previous administration that instructed schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that matched their gender identity, leaving the matter up to individual states to decide.

Transgender rights continue to be part of a raging debate, and not just on the question of bathrooms in schools and city buildings.

In July 2017, Trump announced on Twitter that he would no longer allow "transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military" because of "the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

The military service ban was almost immediately challenged in court. The U.S. Supreme Court recently sided with the Trump administration, allowing the military to proceed discharging certain transgender service members.

Just as popular sentiment was against the North Carolina law, most Americans think that gender identity shouldn't have anything to do with whether someone is fit for military service.

Seventy percent of registered voters nationwide say that transgender people should be allowed to serve in the armed forces, according to January poll from Quinnipiac University.

Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com, @russzimmer@app.com