Kendall Tinoco Wiki – Kendall Tinoco Biography
Kendall Tinoco, a transgender student, claimed on Instagram that she had been discriminated against by a teacher at her school. “In recent years I have been in transition,” she wrote in the post. “To be more specific, I’ve been using the ladies’ room [sic] since the seventh grade.”
Tinoco, who is currently a third-year student at Temple High School in Temple, Texas, says her use of the girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms has never been a problem for school staff. Then last month, she says a teacher denied her access to the girls’ locker room “because there were ‘real girls’ there.”
Frustrated, Tinoco posted on her Instagram page, explaining the situation in detail. Tinoco says in the post that she reported the incidents to the school administration. After asking her classmates for support, Tinoco’s classmates surrounded her in a protest for transgender rights at her school.
Kendall Tinoco Age
Kendall Tinoco is 22 years old.
Texas Students Protest in Support of Trans Student
“[I] was thinking about how many trans girls I had said that to, or trans guys I had said that to. I couldn’t imagine they hadn’t done anything about it, ”Tinoco told Teen Vogue. “It was very sad and I didn’t want to think that she had told anyone else [that]. I wanted to share my story so that people would know what I was doing. I wanted them to know that she was wrong. ”
Tinoco says that she was nervous about doing the initial post about her and that it took her a while to speak. But she finally did, asking for support from her fellow students. “What I thought would happen [after posting] was maybe like some students commenting, ‘Yeah, this is wrong’, or like ‘Let’s have a meeting with a teacher’ or something like that. I didn’t think it would go that far. ”
A week later, a group of students planned a protest for transgender rights and a strike in support of Tinoco, and encouraged participants to bring flags and pride outfits. The students asked Tinoco to join and lead them, and on September 29, what was purported to be a silent protest turned into an energetic rally for Tinoco and trans rights.
I thought maybe 20 people were going to show up, ”says Tinoco. “The last time I listened, I want to say that there were about 300, 400 children who showed up. It was crazy to see that support. It was supposed to be quiet and peaceful, and everyone was saying, ‘trans lives’ and ‘everyone wants this change.’ And it was overwhelming. The support was overwhelming, in a good way. I loved. It was a great protest. ”
Tinoco believes that the ultimate goal of the students who organized the protest was to make a bold statement, something that would make the voices of the students heard. According to Tinoco, there is a large LGBTQ community at Temple High School.
In August, the Biden administration sent students back to school with a warm message of support for transgender students. Along with a video message, the Department of Education posted a resource page for LGBTQ students, including a letter reminding schools that discrimination on the basis of gender is prohibited by Title IX. The Obama administration issued a “Dear Colleagues” letter advising schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice, but it was overturned under the Trump administration. Documents on Biden’s DOE website explain that its Office for Civil Rights may investigate situations that include trans students who are unable to use the correct restroom.
The school leadership allegedly told Tinoco that they could not allow him to use the girls’ bathroom, citing a rule in their school district handbook that they must follow. According to 6 News, a local NBC affiliate, last week Christine Parks, a spokeswoman for the Temple Independent School District, shared that the school administration met with the student and parents that week to review the school’s transgender student enrollment guidelines. district.
According to 6 News, the guidelines state that a student must be identified by their “legal last name” as it appears on the student’s birth certificate or other documented proof of identity, that students must dress in accordance with the dress code, and that a “gender-neutral” restroom, changing room or changing area, and/or overnight facilities, such as unisex teacher restrooms or the nurse’s office, will be accessible to transgender students.
Representatives for the Temple Independent School District and Temple High School leadership did not immediately respond to Teen Vogue’s requests for comment.
After the protest, Tinoco says that she is still shocked by the participation and media attention that she attracted. And with a newfound platform, she has a message to share: “If you’re ever thinking about being a teacher, respect your students. Don’t go around telling other teachers about your students’ personal matters [that] they trusted you. Students are there to trust you, not to be afraid of you, or to be discriminated against. They are there for education and they are there to support because perhaps they do not receive it at home. ”
In the future, Tinoco hopes that her school district will formally recognize that transgender students are protected from discrimination under Title IX. Even then, she will continue to use her voice to defend her rights and what she believes in.
“From there… sharing my stories and inspiring the students, the kids and letting them know that being LGBTQ is okay,” she says. “And that you don’t have to be silenced when they discriminate against you.”
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