I strongly support the initiatives to protect trans and nonbinary youth in our schools. Trans and nonbinary students are owed the same respect from teachers and administrators as their cis peers. Institutional protections against discrimination and harassment can and will save students' lives, as they promote a broader culture of acceptance and inclusion.
Every year, we lose too many LGBTQ+ individuals to self-harm and assault, both of which are largely a product of intolerance that is permitted at the institutional level and brushed off as insignificant. By fostering an environment of acceptance and enforcing non-discriminatory protections at the school level, we can transform our culture to be safer for this community. We have a moral obligation to build a foundation of inclusion and respect for the next generation, and this starts in the schools.