Comparing Transgender Students Attending Public and Private Schools in Massachusetts: Implications of Policy and Health Differences

Background: In 2012, Massachusetts enacted a law expanding education non-discrimination policies to include gender identity; however, it is unclear whether these policies have been implemented or enforced. Research has yet to examine the potential for these policies to improve the wellbeing of transgender students.

Methods: In 2013, a purposive sample of transgender adults in Massachusetts completed a cross-sectional survey. The analytic sample was restricted to 121 participants attending school in Massachusetts. Descriptive analyses examined the prevalence of school policies (e.g., non-discrimination policy, equal access to bathrooms) by school type (private versus public). An age and race-adjusted logistic regression model was fit to estimate associations between school policies and past-week clinically significant depressive distress (CESD-10 score 10+).

Results: Participants’ mean age was 26; 36% attended public and 64% private school. Over half attended a school with equal access to bathrooms (61%), a non-discrimination policy that included gender identity (60%), and allowed students to use preferred names on school documents (52%). Private school students reported significantly more supportive policies than public school students (p<0.0001). In a multivariable model, attending a school without a non-discrimination policy (aOR=2.52, 95%CI=1.18-5.37) and attending a school without supportive housing policies were each independently associated with increased odds of depression (aOR=1.77, 95%CI=1.04-2.99).

Conclusion: Transgender private school students in Massachusetts have greater access to transgender supportive policies relative to public school students, and attending a school without supportive policies was associated with depressive distress. Research is warranted to identify strategies for creating supportive school environments for all transgender students.