Altering Gender Policies in Bay Area Catholic Schools

Earlier this year, Bay Area Catholic high schools, including St. Joseph Notre Dame met with their governing diocese to discuss a possible new policy that could require students to conform to the gender they were assigned at birth.

Students and the general community at these schools have reacted negatively to this news, with one former teacher at St. Joseph Notre Dame, Merrill Collins, stating in an interview with the Oaklandside that “the school is very diverse. We’ve got multiple languages and multiple ethnicities. It’s really wonderful to see the blends of all these people getting along and loving each other and having a wonderful, safe place. Going down [this] path is going to take that away from students.”

Many students at the School agree that this policy would be harmful. Junior Noa Gutkin, a member of GSD, said, “Gender is a social construct… which just means you shouldn’t have to have your gender align with your sex.” Senior Phoenix Carlson, one of the co-leaders of GSD, concurred, saying, “It is a very dangerous policy for students… because the unfortunate reality for a lot of trans and non-binary teens is that home is not necessarily a safe space… so school is where people find [that safe space].” 

Former St. Joseph student and current sophomore, Sebastian Berchesi, reacted to his former school’s potential policy by stating that “the [proposed] St. Joseph’s gender policy is not great.” His displeasure at this potential change is common among St. Joe’s students, as St. Joseph has an active LGBTQ+ community, and the community as a whole is accepting of LGBTQ+ students, with the LGBTQ+ club having a booth at St. Joe’s diversity week this year.

St. Joe’s potential policy is making the students and communities of these schools worry that if this policy is approved, it could mirror similar policies at schools around the country. Many school districts have approved policies that could harm LGBTQ+ students, with one example being the Rocklin Unified School District in Sacramento approving a policy that would force teachers to notify parents if “their child wants to be identified as a gender other than their biological sex.” 

The proposed St. Joe’s policy would solely affect Catholic school students in the Bay Area, but many other policies restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ students all around the country, which is worrying the students and the communities of Bay Area schools.