Transgender Youth Health and Joy

A Model of Evidence-Based School District Policy Change to Support Transgender and Nonbinary Youth Health

Bibliographic Data

ID11035089
AuthorsSonja Mackenzie (0000-0002-9163-576X, Sonja Mackenzie is with the Department of Public Health at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. Neha Mann was a student in the Department of Public Health at Santa Clara University at the time of this project. October Hertenstein was a high school student and student activist in Northern California at the time of this project.), Neha Mann (0009-0005-6653-7454, Sonja Mackenzie is with the Department of Public Health at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. Neha Mann was a student in the Department of Public Health at Santa Clara University at the time of this project. October Hertenstein was a high school student and student activist in Northern California at the time of this project.), October Hertenstein (0009-0009-7368-9658, Sonja Mackenzie is with the Department of Public Health at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. Neha Mann was a student in the Department of Public Health at Santa Clara University at the time of this project. October Hertenstein was a high school student and student activist in Northern California at the time of this project.)
Year2025
Volume116
Issue2
Pagese1-e4
Publication date2025-11-13
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2025.308264
PMID41232050
OpenAlexW4416181411
LanguageEN
References cited5

There are 1000 antitransgender bills across the United States, more than one quarter of which target educational settings. School districts are an increasingly critical policy domain through which transgender and nonbinary youth health is harmed and can be protected. Trans-led resistance, including activism and advocacy, has been found to lead to improved health. This case study describes one California school district’s policy advocacy process as a model for building transgender youth health through a participatory process that, in itself, has supported transgender joy. ( Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print November 13, 2025:e1–e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308264 )

Participatory action research · Public health · Quarter (Canadian coin) · School district · Transgender · Transgender Person · Education Discipline and Inequality · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · School Health and Nursing Education · Health Policy

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