These resources are not exhaustive, but a selection of key materials to aid member schools in addressing important issues related to gender identity in girls’ schools.
The items included through the menu at the right have been curated based on recommendations from member schools. The Coalition makes no endorsement or referral related to professional consultants or individual schools’ policies, procedures, or language, as each school environment is unique. The content found here is regularly updated.
In 2014, the governing board of directors for the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (then known as the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools) reported challenges to the binary concept of gender that were surfacing in the spheres of politics, civil rights, education, and popular culture. Presciently gauging the importance for girls’ schools to have an informed understanding of the unique needs in working with gender-expansive, non-binary, and trans students, the Board established its first Task Force, which then produced the Coalition’s first position statement on transgender students. While initially narrow in scope, this thought-leading work launched many years of curating resources and learning opportunities for member schools, and the position statement was once again updated in 2023.
As our collective understanding of gender identity has evolved, so too has the Coalition. With an expansive and growing membership of more than 550 schools in more than 20 countries, the Coalition is a diverse network of independent, public, state, integrated, charter, and religiously affiliated schools that educate students from early childhood through late adolescence. Each member school has its own distinct institutional identity and characteristics that inform its planning, practices, and policies.
Member schools are invited to use these resources in the ways that best suit their individual circumstances. For some schools, the materials included here will be aspirational roadmaps or guides; for others, the information contained in these pages will be helpful in offering insights into the research and thinking that underpin any gender identity policies that are in place within their own school communities. ICGS member schools are encouraged to leverage these resources often, as they are continually updated to reflect the thought leadership within our Coalition network.