Jessica Sage Celimene-Rowell, Center on Halsted trans liaison. View Full Caption Ariel Cheung/DNAinfo Chicago

BOYSTOWN — Transgender advocates are calling new Chicago Public Schools guidelines regarding transgender students a great first step — but say the district needs to go further.

"Acknowledging we do have students who are gender nonconforming or transgender, that's the good thing. I don't know what I can say good about it beyond that, because I would expect so much more," said Jessica Sage Celimene-Rowell, trans liaison at Center on Halsted.

The guidelines, quietly released in October to school administrators, outline protocols for schools "to ensure the safety, comfort and healthy development of students who are transgender or gender nonconforming, and to maximize their social integration."

Celebrities like Laverne Cox and Bruce Jenner have drawn more national attention to the transgender community. View Full Caption Shutterstock

The five-page document advises principals, teachers and staff how to handle sensitive matters like which bathroom a student should use and how transgender students should be addressed. It defines terms like gender identity as "the deeply held sense or psychological knowledge that individuals have of their gender, regardless of the biological sex they were assigned at birth."

"I think our school leaders were very pleased to have the guidelines to support their students. I think they were warmly received," said Karen VanAusdal, executive director of the Office of Social and Emotional Learning at CPS.

CPS worked with the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance on the guidelines for about a year, following in the steps of school districts in New York City, Los Angeles and other cities both large and small.

"It's something we'd seen emerging, and we wanted to make sure school is safe for all students," VanAusdal said. "One of our main priorities in CPS is creating that system of support, and what that really means is how do we create environments that are really addressing social and economical needs of our students."

Ariel Cheung says some advocates feel the guidelines aren't enough:

The CPS guidelines entitle students to privacy concerning their gender identity or transgender status or, equally, the right to "openly discuss and express" it and decide when, with whom and how to share the information.

There are some exceptions — school staff is instructed to tell the principal if a student discloses a nonconforming gender identity. They cannot, however, share the information with anyone else, including parents, without the student or the school board law department's permission.

Students are not required to change legal records or obtain a court order to be addressed as the gender identity they "exclusively and consistently assert at the school." A persistent refusal by other students or staff to be address transgender students how they choose violates the student code of conduct and the CPS anti-discrimination policy.

But if transgender students want to participate in a competitive sport, they must get approval from the Illinois High School Association, which requires medical documentation, school registration records and transcripts and "gender identity related advantages for approved participation" to make a ruling.

"The [guidelines] alone don't solve the issue of transphobia," said Owen Daniel-McCarter, policy and advocacy director at the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.

A policy with consequences for violations would have more teeth, as opposed to the guidelines, which are "really just a set of values," he said.

"It's absolutely a step in the right direction, and it addresses some of the key issues. However, I have found just kind of anecdotally, that very few people have heard of the guidelines or seen them," Daniel-McCarter said.

Celimene-Rowell, a CPS teacher currently on medical leave in addition to her work at Center on Halsted, fears students won't get enough say in the decision-making process.

When it comes to a support team convened to accommodate transgender students' needs, for example, the principal decides who "may have a legitimate interest in the safety and healthy development of the student."

But CPS officials said while principals have the final say, students will be encouraged to take part in determining the support they need.

The principal also decides which bathroom a gender nonconforming student should use. While there is no set criteria, the guidelines say "appropriate accommodations should be made ... restroom accommodations should be assessed on a case-by-case basis."

Locker-room usage should also be assessed on an individual basis with the "goals of maximizing the student's social integration and equal opportunity to participate in physical education and sports, and ensuring the student's safety and comfort while avoiding stigmatization of the student."

Any student who desires increased privacy can ask for a single-stall restroom if one is available, the policy states.

"A lot of it is left up to the principal, and then it goes to the law department. There's never any space in here for the child to say who they would like to have [on the team]," Celimene-Rowell said. "I don't mind if it's up to the principal if the principals are trained, but there has to be some formal training."

Light blue and pink are used to represent the transgender community. View Full Caption Shutterstock

Celimene-Rowell said as a transgender CPS teacher with ISSA training, she would be an ideal choice to provide the staff trainings at individual schools. She said since late 2013, though, her offers to help CPS improve its treatment of transgender students and staff have been turned down.

CPS told DNAinfo Chicago school leaders had high-level training from November through March, while more extensive LGBTQ trainings were a component of year-round sexual health curriculum training.

Celimene-Rowell said students should have a stronger voice in the decision-making process, while the district should be more open about discussing transgender issues with students.

"We have this huge opportunity where all the students have to go to school. You're worried about this problem within our already marginalized communities when the solution is right in front of you," Celimene-Rowell said. "Why aren't we being proactive about this and doing something?"

Nationally, in the past year celebrities like Laverne Cox and Bruce Jenner drew front-page attention to the community that struggles with disproportionate homelessness and suicide rates.

Seven transgender women were murdered in the first seven weeks of 2015, while deaths of teens like Leelah Alcorn in Cincinnati have led to protests, rallies and a call from the White House to end conversion therapy.

Celimene-Rowell said the guidelines are important because children as young as 5 years old can have a "deeply held" nonconforming gender identity, according to a 2015 University of Washington study. Studies have also shown that people who are transgender are happier if they come out at a younger age.

"Students as young as fourth grade are developing sexual interest and identity, and if we don't acknowledge that and deal with it early, it can create a feeling of shame in the students who don't conform to a very narrow standard," Celimene-Rowell said.

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