By Anthony Jauregui
Staff Writer

  California was the first state to pass the transgender “bathroom law” that granted transgender K-12 students with the autonomy to choose which bathrooms they identify with.

  Though this law was enacted in August of 2013, recent uproar by the Privacy for All Students Coalition and parents have brought the progress of the law to a grinding halt.

  The concerns by parents are based on assumptions that children will dress up and sneak into opposite sex restrooms or locker rooms to catch a peek at other children.

  School administrators have assured families with and without transgender students that students acting inappropriately will not be tolerated.

  Parents have the right to be worried for their children’s safety, but the one way to clear up confusion for parents is by explaining the difference between the terms “transgender” and “transvestite”.

  Transvestites are individuals that dress as the opposite sex.

  On the other hand, transgender is the state of a person’s sexual identity which differs from the one assigned to them.

  The law is designed for desegregation of facilities for transgender students, not to increase bullying, as some say it will.

  Bullying, however, will be closely monitored by school administrators to minimize students being targeted for using the restroom of their choice.

  AB-1266, the so-called “bathroom law”, states that “this bill would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

  According to The Washington Times’ Jan. 8 article by Cheryl Wetzstein, while there are already laws protecting transgender children,  “California schools are already required not to discriminate against transgender students, and they currently work with students and their families to address pertinent issues.”

  Regardless of sexual identity or sexual orientation, each student should be treated with respect.

  Everyone is given unalienable rights. Choosing which restroom you can use isn’t a privilege, it is a right.

  Let transgender students choose the restroom they identify with.