PRINTER'S NO. 301
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
303
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY COHEN, FRANKEL, V. BROWN, BROWNLEE, McCARTER,
O'BRIEN, ROEBUCK, SCHLOSSBERG AND SCHWEYER, FEBRUARY 2, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, FEBRUARY 2, 2015
AN ACT
Providing for equal treatment for transgender pupils.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Transgender
Pupil Educational Rights Act.
Section 2. Uniforms.
A school district may offer different uniforms for male and
female pupils, but may not require a pupil to wear a specific
uniform based on the pupil's sex.
Section 3. Courses.
A school district may not:
(1) Prohibit a pupil from enrolling in any class or
course on the basis of the sex of the pupil.
(2) Require a pupil of one sex to enroll in a particular
class or course, unless the same class or course is also
required of a pupil of the opposite sex.
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Section 4. School programs and activities.
The following shall apply:
(1) Participation in a particular activity or sport, if
required of pupils of one sex, shall be available to pupils
of each sex.
(2) A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-
segregated school programs and activities, including athletic
teams, consistent with the pupil's gender identity, except
where the participation of the pupil would ban the team from
national competitions.
Section 5. Guidance.
(a) General rule.--A school counselor, teacher, instructor,
administrator or aide may not, on the basis of the sex of a
pupil, do any of the following:
(1) Offer vocational or school program guidance to a
pupil of one sex that is different from that offered to a
pupil of the opposite sex.
(2) In counseling a pupil, differentiate career,
vocational or higher education opportunities on the basis of
the sex of the pupil.
(b) Career planning.--Any school personnel acting in a
career counseling or course selection capacity to a pupil shall
affirmatively explore with the pupil the possibility of careers,
or courses leading to careers, that are nontraditional for the
pupil's sex.
Section 6. Documentation.
A pupil who identifies as a transgender individual may use
any facility, including bathrooms and locker rooms, consistent
with the pupil's gender identity upon providing any of the
following documentation to the school district:
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(1) A signed statement from a licensed physician,
psychiatrist or psychologist, who has seen the pupil as a
patient for at least six months, which recognizes the pupil
as identifying as transgender.
(2) A signed, sworn statement from the pupil stating
that the pupil identifies as transgender and will
consistently live as the gender opposite from the pupil's sex
for the pupil's school career.
Section 7. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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