Haidee V Eugenio

Pacific Daily News

Guam public schools receiving federal grants have started looking into how to comply with a federal guideline requiring campuses to allow transgender students to use bathrooms consistent with the gender they identify with, or risk losing U.S. Department of Education funding.

The University of Guam will be complying, said Jonas Macapinlac, director of UOG’s integrated marketing communications.

“We are looking at our current spaces to see where gender neutral facilities can be placed,” Macapinlac said last Tuesday. “Any new construction will include gender neutral facilities.”

He added that transgender students “are able to access restrooms consistent with their gender identity.”

Guam Community College will also comply with the new U.S. Department of Education policy, said Jayne Flores, assistant director of GCC’s communications and promotions.

“We have transgender students on our campus and bathroom use has never been an issue to date,” Flores added.

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Jon Fernandez, superintendent of the Guam Department of Education, said he will be consulting with the Guam Education Board regarding the details for how they will ensure compliance but he acknowledged that they cannot afford to lose about $25 million in an annual consolidated grant for noncompliance with the guideline.

He said he also hopes they will have the benefit of public input as the department works toward implementation.

“I assume we are going to want to maintain the $25 million in federal funding that we greatly need to support our students,” Fernandez said.

As superintendent, Fernandez said he will be the one to sign assurances with the U.S. Department of Education that Guam DOE is in compliance with Title IX, which “includes prohibition against sexual discrimination and which includes the latest guidance regarding transgendered students and restroom facilities.”

Every year, the Guam Department of Education receives more than $45 million in federal funds, inclusive of a consolidated grant, special education funding and other U.S. Department of Education discretionary grants.

At this time, however, Guam DOE has not yet thoroughly discussed these issues, “but we will,” Fernandez said.

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“We have to look at implementation and gather stakeholder input before we determine whether further guidance is needed,” he said. “Obviously, we are here to serve all students. We want to ensure inclusion and equity for all. At the same time, with guidance such as this, we need to figure out how this type of guidance affects our current operations and whether it will require changes or modifications to our practices. I'm hoping we can tackle these issues this summer in addition to everything else that we need to get schools ready for the opening of the school year.”

Fernandez recently posted a poll on the transgender bathroom access on his Twitter feed and the results show 60 percent of 1,071 people voting agreed with the federal guidance, 19 percent disagreed, and 21 percent said they were unsure.

Vincent Leon Guerrero, chief executive officer of Guahan Academy Charter School, separately said the new federal guideline is something that the first charter school in Guam is currently “reviewing in terms of what we needed to do as an organization.”

But he said the charter school is also looking at how Guam DOE complies with the guideline.

“We will take a look at the requirements for submitting application for federal grants,” Leon Guerrero said. “We are also aware that some states are challenging this federal guideline. ... While we are starting to look at it, the matter is still not on the board agenda at this time.”

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