East Palo Alto Academy

Gender Support Plan

The purpose of this document is to create shared understandings of how the student’s authentic gender will be accounted for and supported at school. School staff should consider a student’s individual needs and circumstances, as well as applicable state and federal laws and EPAA’s own policies and practices, when determining how best to use this document. In some cases, it may be appropriate to use this as a template to create a formal record in a student’s file, which would be accessible upon request by the student or their parent or guardian. In other circumstances, this document may be more helpful as a conversation guide, to help the student and their support network understand and anticipate different scenarios where support at school might be needed. School staff should work closely with students when using the document, both in terms of responding to prompts and also in deciding who else they wish to be part of the conversation. Allow all involved parties time to review the sections and then come together to confirm shared agreements and any follow up steps. Please note that there is a separate document to plan for a student formally communicating a change in their gender status at school.

Student’s Name Student’s Pronouns Name on Birth Certificate Sex Assigned at Birth Student’s Grade Level Date of Birth Today’s Date

Meeting Participants

Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers

Siblings

Confidentiality and Disclosure

Which staff members should be aware of the student’s gender?

District staff (superintendent, student support services, district psychologist, etc.) Site level leadership/administration (principal, head of school, counselor, etc.) Teachers and other staff Specific trusted adults

Which students should be aware of the student’s gender?

The general student body The student’s friends The student’s classmates Specific trusted students

If the student has asserted a degree of privacy, what steps will be taken if that privacy is compromised, or is believed to have been compromised?

How will staff respond to questions about the student’s gender, such as “why is X using a new name?” or “why is X using the boys’/girls’ bathroom?”

Questions from other students Questions from staff members Questions from parents and the community

What are some ways that the student will respond to questions from any of the above?