Framing Controversial Identity Issues in Schools: The Case of HB2, Bathroom Equity, and Transgender Students

Abstract

This article explores how teachers might address controversial identity issues in their classrooms, using the 2016 North Carolina House Bill 2 that raised the issue of transgender bathroom rights to the forefront of societal discourse as an example. I analyze the issue using the three most commonly cited criteria for determining the openness of controversial issues: epistemic, political, and politically authentic. I then discuss the challenges teachers face when confronted with issues that are epistemically settled but publicly open and implicate students' identities. I conclude by arguing that in those cases in which there exists a clear empirical justification for teaching a controversial identity issue as settled, doing so may be prudent even if it limits democratic discourse or presents an inherent risk for teachers.