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Transgender Resources

Transgender Resources for Seattle Colleges Employees

Seattle Colleges stands firm in our commitment to providing an inclusive, safe, and respectful work environment for all employees, including those of all gender identities and expressions. Transgender, cisgender, and nonbinary – all employees of all gender identities and expressions – have the right to be who they are and express their gender identities openly.

Seattle Colleges Public Notice of Non-Discrimination

Seattle Colleges is committed to fostering work environments where employees can express their authentic selves. If you are a Seattle Colleges employee contemplating or currently experiencing a gender transition, you will find pertinent information regarding policies, procedures, and resources available to you. Supervisors and colleagues of transitioning employees will also find relevant guidance. Regardless of your role, it is recommended that you thoroughly review each section of this resource.

If you want to learn more about your rights to be free from discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, or retaliation and/or seek confidential and non-confidential resources and supportive measures, contact the Title IX/EEO Coordinators at your campus or the District Office.

Restroom and locker room access: You are welcome to use the restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms aligning with your gender or whichever choice you are most comfortable with. Gender-neutral restrooms are available for everyone to use.

Time off and leave of absence for transition-related care: Use of sick time off, unpaid time off, FMLA, shared leave, and/or leave as a disability accommodation for medical appointments and procedures and recovery time associated with your transition will be approved on the same basis as for any other medical appointments and procedures. (Seattle Colleges policies, 405 Family and Medical Leave, 417 Shared Leave, 418 Reasonable Accommodations, 435 Leave-Classified Employees, 473 Sick and Emergency Leave – Exempt Employees, and 476 Other Exempt Leaves of Absence) 

If you need time off for transition-related medical care, notify your supervisor and/or your Human Resources Office, and they will help you get the proper forms to take to your provider for completion. You do not need to share medical details with your supervisor.

Completed forms from your health care provider contain medical details and should only be submitted to your Human Resources Office (not your supervisor). Follow the instructions on the form to submit it to your Human Resources Office.

Gender-affirming health insurance benefits: All of Seattle Colleges' health insurance plans provide medical coverage for gender transition services and procedures. Please contact your medical plan directly for more information regarding specific services and providers covered.

Privacy and confidentiality: You have the right to discuss your gender identity or expression openly or to keep that information private. Your status as a transgender person (such as the sex you were assigned at birth) is considered confidential and should only be disclosed on a need-to-know basis.

Chosen Gender and Personal Pronouns: Seattle Colleges is committed to understanding the complexities of gender identities and supporting the expression and self-identification of gender identity, pronoun usage, and sexual orientation. This commitment aligns with our institutional values of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

When onboarded to Seattle Colleges, employees start with a recorded legal name and gender marker. In many cases, this name and gender are crucial and cannot be substituted or changed except through a legal name and/or legal gender change. For example, payroll and tax information must match what is in the Social Security Administration database. In systems such as these, we are required to use the legal name and gender. Using a chosen name or gender marker is not optional and is out of our control.

However, in systems internal to Seattle Colleges, identifiers of people are not so rigid. It is essential for Seattle Colleges to provide employees the ability to choose how they represent themselves digitally. This approach allows for a broader and more inclusive interpretation of identity whenever possible.

Note: In broad communications, the pronouns they/their/them are acceptable to use as singular pronouns. 

Your Chosen Name: For other documents and Seattle Colleges systems, including *CTCLink, CANVAS, Starfish, Email, and Seattle Colleges ID cards (if applicable), you can use your preferred name without a legal name change.

  • Use *ctcLink to change how your name appears.
  • Go to your school's Campus Security Department to update ID Cards, if applicable.

transgender resources 
While the use of chosen personal pronouns and prefixes is recommended and encouraged wherever possible, Seattle Colleges cannot guarantee that chosen pronouns and prefixes will appear in all cases and in all communications. It should be understood that even when a Chosen Gender has been entered in various Seattle Colleges information systems, Legal Sex will be used wherever required by Seattle Colleges business or legal need. Please note that *preferred name cannot be used in CTC Link FSCM pillar – (procurement, accounts payable, purchasing approvals or on purchasing credit cards) due to our legal obligations.  

Specific examples that may require use of Legal Sex include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Financial, scholarships, medical, and law enforcement documents
  • W-4 forms, I-9 forms and payroll documents
  • Visa/immigration documents
  • CTC Link FSCM pillar
  • Information provided to airlines for issuing tickets
  • Employment-related documents and personnel files
  • Background check documents
  • Insurance documents
  • Federal reporting

Legal name change: In order to get your legal name changed at Seattle Colleges, you will need a Social Security card with your new name on it (a receipt will not work). 

Certain documents—including official documents such as transcripts, diplomas, and financial aid records for alumni—will require a legal name change for Seattle Colleges to change your name on them.

Resources 

Seattle Colleges relied upon and referred to materials from the following organizations to create this resource: Transgender Law Center, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, ACLU Washington,  Office of the Insurance Commissioner Washington State, HRC Transitioning in the Workplace: A Guide for Trans Employees and Name changes - District Court - King County, Washington

Relevant Policies - Seattle Colleges policies