Harassment can take many forms and can come from a variety of sources.  In Oklahoma, a student who identified as male but was born female was outed on a Facebook post by the parent of a fellow student.  This led to adults posting comments encouraging violence and bullying of the transgender student.  Not only did this place the student and their family in danger, some adults who were posting lost their jobs as a result (Schwartz, 2018).  Additionaly, transitioning from one gender to another is a private matter and can be faced with roadblocks from schools and families.  Districts, such as Ft Worth ISD will only make accommodations for transgender students with parental support and involvement (McGaughy, 2018).  Many transgender students do not have that support.   
  As educators, complete understanding of FERPA is necessary for the safety of all students.  Classrooms are filled with unintentional opportunities to identify students by gender and teachers must take careful aim to remain vigilant.  Birthday lists, bubble forms for testing or passes identifying girl or boys can lead to outing a student who otherwise is not ready.  

             It is important for teachers and administrators to become familiar and up to date with laws and policies within their state and district in order to provide a safe environment for all students.  While openness of gender identity is in its early conceptions, the acceptance is becoming more apparent and more visible at a younger age.  Culture is changing much quicker than laws.  The Trump administration is attempting to move forward with the disablement of Title IX which will cause schools to reevaluate their procedures regarding bathroom policies, yet again. 

References
McGaughy, L. (2018, August 20). Transgender girl demeaned, threatened by parents at Oklahoma school is moving to Texas. Dallas News.

Schwarz, N. (2018, October 22). Trump administration could remove Title IX protections for transgender students. Education Dive.

 

 

2.       Relationships:  
Any relationship can be cause of tension, however, students utilize counselors and other support staff to help facilitate. Employee relations can be difficult depending on the nature of the relationship.  Also, professionals relationships with students can become a concern if lines, such as after school hours communication, occurs often.

 

3.       FERPA:  
Displaying student information during testing time, to celebrate birthdays or when speaking in a public setting is common.  More often than not, the information is disseminated unintentionally.  However, everyone must abide by law. This is a daily concern for administrators.

 

4.       Reporting child abuse:  
As educators, we are required to report any suspicion of child abuse within a set time period.  However, many times, adults in a school setting are hesitant to report due to the uncertainty of the outcome;  Another reason might be that teachers do not fully comprehend the law or have not been properly trained.

 

5.        Personnel/ HR issues:  While administrators want to help their employees, there is a line between expectations and privileges.  Some teachers push the line to see if they can get a few extra minutes at lunch, leave early for the day, order a few extra supplies, or teachers may have a negative attitude towards specific students and/or teaching in general. The administrator must abide by policy as well as be fair and consistent with all employees. 

(M. Paz, personal communication, October 23, 2018)