Andrew’s biggest disappoint this year was with the school yearbook. When she posed for her school photo, Andrew wore the off-the-shoulder shawl that girls traditionally wear. At her mother’s request, she posed for one photo in a tuxedo.

The photography company sent both to the yearbook, and despite Andrew’s request that the shawl photo be used, the yearbook adviser chose the picture of Andrew in the tuxedo.

“I was really upset,’’ Andrew said. “That’s so not me.”

Being a gay or bi-sexual teenager is by itself a challenge for many students, said Peter Robinson, from the organization Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

“Support is key,” he said.

Among the support groups available to the area’s transgender youth is Sunserve, a nonprofit social service agency serving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning community in South Florida.

At the group’s weekly meetings, anywhere from five to 10 kids attend to speak about their own experiences.

For Satara, the weekly Sunserve meeting is one time when she can be herself.

The shy 19-year-old flips her black pony tail as she describes her high school years at a Broward High School.

Satara, who was born male but identifies as female, wore her hair long, and kept her nails painted. She said she tries to ignore the snickers as she walks down the hallways.

Her biggest struggle, she said, was coming to terms with being different. She never joined any clubs or went to dances.

“I think I just kept to myself, because I didn’t really understand what I was feeling,’’ she said.

Tired of dealing with the social aspect of high school, Satara dropped out her senior year and instead took classes online.

“People think it’s a choice,’’ said Satara, 19. “Why would we choose to be different?’’

Although Taylor has chosen to remain in school, he’s opted to take physical education classes online.

Instead of being forced to change his clothes in the locker room, Taylor will be able to log his physical activities and study health and nutrition.

The school allows him to use the teacher’s restroom, which offers privacy.

He has a close group of friends who know his secret and he chooses to keep it that way. But one teacher has repeatedly referred to Taylor as one the “girls’’ and “she,” leaving him confused and embarrassed.

Donning baggy shorts and a T-shirt and spiky hair, Taylor said he’s hoping the new policy will mean more sensitivity.

“We want to be treated like everyone else,’’ he said.

While there’s no way to track how many students the policy affects — the law prohibits school districts from asking a student their sexual orientation — Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said nationally transgender people represent less than 1 percent of the total population.

“There’s never really been a study that shows exact numbers,’’ said Keisling.

In a school climate survey done by the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network in 2009, out of 7,261 middle and high school students, nearly 9 out of 10 lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender students say they have been harassed in school. The survey also showed that about two-thirds felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation.