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Queer Youth Task Force (QYTF) intern Joaquín García attended the 2013 Gender Spectrum Conference in Berkeley, CA, which “provides education, training and support to help create a gender sensitive and inclusive environment for all children and teens.”

“Even as someone pretty versed in these issues,” García said, “I was still blown away by how much I learned about gender at the conference. From the familial and spiritual to the medical and legal, Gender Spectrum taught me so much that I’ll be sure to take back to my activism and daily life. I highly recommend Gender Spectrum, not only for families of transgender and gender-nonconforming youth and those youth themselves, but also for professionals from fields where gender and gendered conceptions matter — and let’s be honest, that’s basically every field, even if not obviously so.”

To find out more about Gender Spectrum, click here, and stay updated on information regarding the 2014 conference!

Victory for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth in California Schools!

Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law AB 1266, which is a further extension of civil rights to transgender and gender-nonconforming students.

Here’s what you need to know, quoted directly from the bill itself:

“Existing law prohibits public schools from discriminating on the basis of specified characteristics, including gender, gender identity, and gender expression, and specifies various statements of legislative intent and the policies of the state in that regard. Existing law requires that participation in a particular physical education activity or sport, if required of pupils of one sex, be available to pupils of each sex.

This bill would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.“

The bill will go into effect on January 1st, 2014.

Make sure YOUR school follows the law, and find out more about your rights here!