In a unanimous 9-0 vote, the Framingham Public Schools Committee adopted this week a groundbreaking school policy ensuring transgender students are fully included in athletics. GLAD Senior Staff Attorney Patience Crozier issued the following statement:

GLAD applauds the Framingham school committee for its unanimous approval of this policy to ensure the full inclusion of transgender students in athletics, and congratulates the local parents, students and other community members who worked for its adoption.

Given the vital role that athletics play in student development, including social and emotional development, wellness, and development of key life skills like teamwork and collaboration, it is critical for transgender students to be fully included in this part of school life.

We know that creating an atmosphere where all students, including transgender students, are included results in a positive learning environment for everyone, and a key component of this policy is education. We trust Framingham will comprehensively train all coaches, captains and student athletes on this policy so that the true promise of inclusion is reached.

With this groundbreaking policy, Framingham is addressing head on an important area of education that is not often addressed. This policy makes Framingham a leader in Massachusetts and we hope this will serve as a model for the entire state.

Read more about the school policy here.