Mount Saint Charles school policy denies transgender students

March 4, 2016 5:39 pm

By Ana Bottary

abottary@abc6.com

@anabottary

Mount Saint Charles Academy alumni are frustrated after discovering a school policy on transgender students. The handbook says they can’t make accommodations for transgender students, therefore they will not accept anyone who identifies as transgender.

"This is clearly judging. This is clearly separating out a group of people," says Mount Saint Charles Academy Alumus, Nick Martin.

Martin is a 2008 alum. of the school and part of the LGBT community. He was shocked to learn about the policy, saying it does not seem to be in line with the education he received or the supportive community he experienced.

"Seeing any kind of language or rhetoric against anybody coming from that school is an immediate shock to all of us who went there. It seems to be the opposite of what we were taught and what we were told and how to engage in the world around us. We were always told to help out those who are marginalized and pushed away," he says.

Martin says hundreds of students have come together this week with a petition. 2009 alumnus, David Coletta, plans on taking the petition right to the president of the school.

"Just asking for them to turn around and not do this policy that they have instilled and to allow transgender students to attend the academy like they were once allowed to," says Coletta.

Mount Saint Charles Academy released a statement, that reads, in part,

"The policy is not intended to discriminate towards transgender students or exclude them. It was put in place because the school feels its facilities aren’t able to accommodate them."

We should mention there is nothing in the handbook that points out problems with their facilities accommodating transgender students. Martin says he still has faith the school will take another look at this, and ultimately make the right decision.

"I still have hope that we can do what we’ve always done, which is come together as a community, talk about this, and get to a higher place."

If you would like to sign the petition or learn more, you can visit this website.