Despite the stardom of her own reality TV show, transgender 17-year-old Jazz Jennings feels immensely isolated at school and has asked her parents to consider enrolling her in a virtual, online school. In a recent episode of I Am Jazz, TLC’s hit show, Jazz admitted to regularly feeling miserable without any friends and eating lunch alone in the bathroom. She feels it’s time to make a change.
Many transgender students walk the halls of our country’s schools feeling isolated, left out and bullied. This social ostracism has dangerous consequences — a New York Civil Liberties Union report found 50% of transgender students avoid school regularly and suffer disproportionately high dropout rates.
Three out of every four transgender students feel unsafe at school, according to a GLSEN survey; those who are able to attend sometimes struggle with lower GPAs and are less likely to continue their education beyond high school. For numerous youth in the transgender community, it’s clear that the traditional school model isn’t working.
Read the full story from USA Today.
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