Mount St. Charles says it won’t accept transgender students
By News Staff
Mount Saint Charles Academy in Woonsocket says it does not accept transgender students.
The private, Catholic junior-senior high school has a written policy in its 2015-2016 Parent-Student Handbook saying:
"Mount Saint Charles Academy is unable to make accommodations for transgender students. Therefore, MSC does not accept transgender students nor is MSC able to continue to enroll students who identify as transgender."
The school sent a statement Friday, reading:
The policy that currently appears in the Mount Saint Charles Student Handbook is not intended to be discriminatory toward transgendered students nor is Mount Saint Charles Academy’s intent or desire to exclude transgender students. The policy was put in place for the simple reason that Mount Saint Charles feels that its facilities do not presently provide the school with the ability to accommodate transgender students. As a Catholic school, Mount Saint Charles recognizes its call to serve all children who desire a Catholic education, but Mount Saint Charles also recognizes that it is not a comprehensive high school with the ability to serve all students. Some students may not be academically qualified. Others may have learning plans which the school cannot accommodate. And in some cases, our facilities may not be adequate to service some students. Although the school has not been approached with any requests to admit transgender students, Mount Saint Charles Academy’s administration has been exploring ways in which it might provide reasonable accommodations for transgender students and fulfill its mission.
ABC6 News Reporter Ana Bottary will have much more on this story on ABC6 News at 5
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