3rd Annual Son Tus Niños También: Trans Kids Back to School

This event will focus on the treatment of trans children in schools, legal rights, and procedures for parents, teachers, and administrators. Keynote speaker is Dr. Kimberly Ridgley, Director of Counseling for Northside Independent School District. Additional speakers will include school administrators, counselors and legal experts. Panelists will include parents of trans children. Free admission. Translation available. All are welcome!

The first 50 guests to arrive get a backpack full of school supplies after the event! All are welcome! THANK YOU TO Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) for being a Cosponsor for this event!

The purpose of the event is to facilitate a conversation between parents, their children, and teachers on how best to include, respect, and protect trans youth in schools. On January 5, 2017, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick filed the “Texas Privacy Act,” an anti-trans bathroom bill, popularly known as SB 6. Patrick
egregiously opened the press conference announcing the bill’s filing with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ’Our lives begin to end the day we become silent on things that matter. This legislation, the Texas Privacy Act… is unquestionably one of the things that matters. It’s the right thing to do.” Dan Patrick argued that this act would limit public restroom access for transgender people, protect the privacy and safety of Texans, and offer common-sense protections against sexual predators. This year in March, President Trump has implemented a military ban against transgender persons, anyone with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria, or individuals who require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery except under certain limited circumstances. These attacks infringe on the civil rights of transgender, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, and it is critical that we prepare for the attacks on the TLGBQ community coming in 2019.

Given the current political dialogue, harmful legislation, and violence against the trans community, we want to create a safe space to share the experiences, concerns, and visions of parents of trans kids and trans individuals so that the community can get different perspectives of what is happening here in San Antonio.

School administrators, counselors, and legal experts will take the stage to discuss treatment of trans children in schools, legal rights, and procedures. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Kimberly Ridgley, Director of Counseling for Northside Independent School District. The discussion panel will consist of true experiences and stories of Trans children and their parents in the context of US schools. The panel will include updates from those who were part of Trans Kids Back to School 2016 and 2017.

Event Schedule
5pm- Resource Tables
6pm- Event Opening by moderator Lauryn Farris
6:10pm- ACLU Kali Cohn
6:25pm- NISD Dr. Kimberly Ridgley
6:40pm- SAISD Jason Brayden
6:55pm- Parent and Child Panel Discussion
7:45pm- Q&A

As of now, confirmed resource tables include: Fiesta Youth, CASA, Ryan White Program, TENT, Trans Allies SA, Men in transition, and the Pride Center.