The Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Scholars is a grassroots effort to look at strategic approaches to the issues of social justice and policy implementation as regards the concepts of gender identity and gender expression. The Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Scholars invites interested parties in higher education to discuss what works and what does not work in regards to codifying the inclusion of “gender identity and expression” into institutional policy.
The Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Scholars (TXTNS) is committed to ensuring no person or group on any educational campus will be alone. TXTNS will help support and provide resources to any and all advocates working towards a social justice policy inclusive of gender identity and gender expression.
The Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Scholars was first formed as an informal gathering of individuals interested in discussing strategies to implement transgender-inclusive nondiscrimination policies in educational institutions in Texas. Our first meeting took place in 2009 at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work building, with all funding for the conference coming from individuals interested in the topic. Approximately six months after this first gathering, the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit was formalized as a non-profit organization in April of 2010.
The first official Summit was held at Rice University in July of 2010 to educate on the need for and discuss strategies to achieve transgender-inclusive policies. Since this initial Summit, we have continued to host annual summits at campuses throughout Texas. When our first Summit took place in 2010, our list of campuses with inclusive policies numbered only three – in 2022, our list is currently at over 90 and counting. While the Summit remains our signature event, we continue to advocate for transgender-inclusive policies and education throughout the year. To reflect this, in 2021, the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit has rebranded as the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Scholars to better reflect our unending year-long commitment to achieving social justice.
