Tadi Betancourt, transgender

Tadi Betancourt, a transgender student at East Pennsboro High School, says all students deserve the right to use a bathroom where they feel safe and comfortable.

(Ivey DeJesus/PennLive)

When Tadi Betancourt, a senior at East Pennsboro High School, wants to use the bathroom, he prefers to use one of the bathrooms in the school nurse's office. Those bathrooms are locked with a key.

Betancourt is fine with using the general boys bathroom or the boys locker room for that matter, even though, he knows that might not be the case for some of his classmates.

Betancourt - whose full name Taheton in his Native American tongue means crow, an agent of transition, is one of among a dozen transgender students at East Pennsboro.

He says that despite the efforts to promote inclusivity at his school, at times, he still navigates intolerant attitudes and scrutiny.

"I'm the queer. I'm the trans gay guy," he said. "I used to be a lesbian. I used to be the lesbian on the football team. I definitely used to be a target. At the beginning of the school year, there was graffiti on the walls that said, "Stay out Tadi you trans (expletive).' It's high school. It's to be expected; I don't care. It doesn't bother me at all."

Betancourt is at the center of one of the hottest debates in the country over the demands from the transgender community for gender neutral public bathrooms and the ensuing backlash from widely conservative sectors arguing that people should use the bathroom that corresponds to their biological gender.

East Pennsboro, like almost all schools, subscribes to a policy that prohibits harassment or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. But the actual day-to-day negotiations can be clouded with intolerance.

Betancourt, a member of Coexist, the LGBT student government association, says about a dozen transgender students attend East Pennsboro. He said transgender the students would prefer - and have asked - to be given keys for the bathroom in the nurse's office. Yet, these days, transgender students must go to the nurse's office to ask for bathroom privileges, and are at times met with seemingly unnecessary questions as to why they need to use the private bathroom.

"It shouldn't be that way," Betancourt said. "These kids have to hold it in all day. They don't feel comfortable. I understand. There's graffiti on walls above me all the time."

In the wake of a growing number of states that have passed so-called "bathroom bills" requiring people to use the bathroom that pertains to their birth gender, President Obama earlier this month issued a directive to schools reminding them that districts that fail to comply with the non-discriminatory provisions of the Title IX law would be jeopardizing their funding.

Pennsylvania does not have a statewide gender identity-inclusive non-discrimination law, and only 34 municipalities have local LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances. Five school districts have enacted comprehensive transgender student policies, none in the region.

Gov. Tom Wolf last month signed executive orders prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The executive orders would only protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender whose employment falls under the governor's authority. It does not include employees of state-funded schools and universities. Both chambers of the Legislature are considering bills with similar language whose provisions, if approved, would apply the law to all state residents.

Jay Burkhart, East Pennsboro Area School District's superintendent, said his district is part of the conversation that is taking place across school communities.

"It's an evolving issue," he said. "We want to exclude no one, not any student for any reason. We continue to work to make sure all students feel safe and accepted and that we are in compliance."

Burkhart said the conversation is happening at the school board level, among administrators as well as at the student level. The school has had sensitivity training, he said.

"I think it's something all schools will have to have a conversation about in the near and immediate future," Burkhart said. "Not only East Pennsboro but across the Commonwealth."

He said no student has addressed him directly with concerns about accommodations for transgender students. Similarly, no one has filed any pushback with him regarding transgender students.

Burkhart, who was not aware that a dozen transgender students attended his school, said that if he found out about any graffiti in his school buildings, he would order it removed immediately and "try to find out who put there and take action."

"We continue to do everything we can to make sure every student has equal opportunity and to make sure there's no exclusion," he said. "We want to do what's right for all kids. That's our mission."

Betancourt, who was born a female and used to be named Tatiana, said he is the only transgender student at the school who has no qualms about using the locker room associated with his gender identity.

"I'm the only brave one," said Betancourt, who began transitioning two years ago and is now doing hormone therapy.

Already an advocate for the transgender community, Betancourt has spoken with his superintendent about the possibility of installing gender-neutral bathrooms.

"Kids deserve a safe environment to go to school bathrooms," he said. "You can't leave students behind. Everybody deserves to have that in public school. To let kids use gender-preferred bathrooms is the first step."

The second step, he explained, would be to install bathrooms for students who identify as non-binary - meaning they identify neither as male or female.

Betancourt said the current bathroom debate is no different than the debates engendered by the efforts to repeal Jim Crow laws or even allowing women in public bathrooms.

"It's just that simple," Betancourt said. "It's just a place to pee. For me to be demonized as a molester . . . like look at me! It's ignorance and stupidity. People aren't used to seeing it, that's why it's important to educate people and show kids that gender neutral bathrooms are OK . . . people will be OK."