Search The WebThis Site for Get a Search Engine For Your Web Site

A GLBTQ EDUCATION INTERNET RESOURCES Public School Issues

Index: Public School Issues -  - Transgender / Transvestite / Transsexual -  - Lesbian  &  Bisexual Women -  - Homo-Negativity / Phobia -  - Identity Formation  &  Coming Out -  - Counseling  &  Therapy -  - Professional Education  -  - Bisexuality -  - Religion   &  Spirituality -  - Homosexuality:  Biological  or  Learned ? -  - Male  Youth Prostitution - - HIV-AIDS -  - Gay & Bisexual Male Suicide Problems -  - Drug / Alcohol Use / Abuse / Addiction  -  - Drug / Alcohol Use / Abuse / Addiction  -  - GLBT  History -  - Community Attributes  &  Problems -  -  Couples / Families / Children / Adoption / Spousal Violence -  - The Elderly -  - Race/Ethnic Minority Issues: U.S., Canada, Europe,  New Zealand & Australia -  -  Latin America / Africa -  - Middle East / Asia

Public  School  Issues

Book shows how homophobia starts in the schoolyard: "Dr Plummer found that homophobia peaks in the mid to late teens, with boys in years 8 and 9 reporting that they use the word 'poofter' 25 to 50 times a day. These attitudes, he said, were often an exaggerated expression of heterosexual identity, and thus effected everyone. 'Boys who aren't targeted by others observe what goes on and make sure they don't do anything that might be considered suspect or that would make them stand out.'" - How Do People Treat You? (Related Information) (Related Report: Writing Themselves In Again: PDF Download) "Young men were more likely to be targeted for verbal abuse, and 46% of participants overall stated they had been verbally abused. Thirteen percent of participants had been physically abused. Almost 70% of the abuse disclosed had taken place at school, which means that school is a more violent place for these young people than the streets." - Variations of this Australian situation exists in many countries of the world. - Gay-Rights Groups Draft Guide To Laws on Harassment [in US Schools] (Must Subscribe). - Who's looking after gay teenagers? - Is homophobic bullying a problem in schools? - Perceptions of homophobia and heterosexism in physical education: "These data indicate that homophobic and heterosexist behaviors are common in secondary schools, that teachers intend to provide a safe space, and that teachers fail to confront heterosexist or homophobic behaviors and take proactive steps to create an inclusive environment." - Reaching Out to the Out: Kids and educators battle homophobia in schools. - The Necessity of Gay-Straight Alliances in Middle Schools.

Anti-gay slurs common at school: Some say insults increase as gays visibility rises. - How the Homophobic Climate in the United States Affects GLBTQ Youth. - Homophobic Bullying 'Getting Worse': High-profile homophobic bullying initiatives are failing to make a significant impact in preventing homophobic bullying according to the Queer Youth Network (a national organisation by by and for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered young people). It argues the very nature of schools themselves need to be looked at in order to eradicate all forms of bullying. Tackling homophobic bullying alone is creating a distraction from dealing with a much larger problem. - A study of former high-school American Football players has found that more than a third said they had had sexual relations with other men.

Do Schools Fail Gay and Lesbian Youth? (Alternate Link) - Gay and Lesbian Teens. - GLBTQ Youth: At Risk and Underserved. - Worst days of their lives: "School is usually a nightmare for gay and lesbian pupils, writes Greg Callaghan. 'FAGGOT! Pooftah! Fairy!' They kept yelling it at me, as I left the school yard..." - Homosexuality and School Superintendents: A Brief History. -  Gay Teens at Risk. Fastback 357. -  Gay Youth in American Public High Schools: Invisible Diversity. - The Needs of Lesbian and Gay Young People - Exploring the Possibilities for Change in Schools (UK). - Gay Proms: Separate but Equal? - More high school proms opening doors to same-sex couples. - Six national school health professional organizations are collaborating in the Healthy LGB Students Project. - Healthy Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Students Project. - Gay-lesbian support groups in US public high schools. - Making Schools Safe for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Students: A Resource Guide. - Creating Safe Schools for Lesbian and Gay Students: A resource guide for school staff. - More than 100 PFGAG chapters active in PFGAG national safe schools program.

People For the American Way: Gay and Lesbian Issues in Schools. - Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth: Understanding available support systems in the high school environment. - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth - Pressing Needs and Promising Practices. - Gay Teens: Preventing Self-Harm (School Nurse). The author concludes: "The health care provider, whether in a school-based clinic, a primary care clinic, an emergency department, an inpatient unit, a specialty clinic, or a shelter for homeless youth, is unquestionably in a position to assist these struggling adolescents to reduce self-harm and to increase self-acceptance." - Social Work with Gay and Lesbian Adolescents (by  Deana F. Morrow: Now only available as Word 97/2000 Document Download  - Fighting to Allow Gay Clubs at Schools. - Gay Teens Ignored by High School Sex Ed Classes. - Lessons on Homosexuality Move Into the Classroom.

Why We Need to Address Lesbian and Gay Issues in Our Schools. - American Psychological Association's resolutions re: GLBT Youth in Schools. - Healthy, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Students Project. - Research on Health Education Needs of LGBT Youth. - The Needs of Lesbian and Gay Young People: Exploring the Possibilities for Change in Schools. - Anderson, J. D. (Phi Delta Kappan, 1994): School climate for gay and lesbian students and staff members: "In every class in every school throughout our country there are students who are not being given an equal education." - Demystifying Homosexuality in Schools in the Chaudière-Appalachia Region: An Aid to Intervention (PDF Download). - Gaybashing in Schools. - Gay-Bashing in Adventist Schools. - Les garçons, toujours les plus mal à l'aise face à l'homosexualité au secondaire et au cégep. - L'homosexualité à l'école: toujours taboue.

No Sex, Please, We’re Gay Teens:... The GLBT movement is seriously failing queer young people in matters of sex.... Young queer people today are growing up in a world where gay and mainstream culture give them mixed signals about sexuality and sexual behavior. The two historical circumstances that made growing up gay so unique for those born in the mid-1980s and after—the fight for marriage equality and the AIDS epidemic—are also making it almost impossible to have informed, healthy, and sane discussions about sexual desire and sexual activity. That’s because in recent years the clanging of wedding bells and the insistent bad news about HIV transmission (much of it fueled by anti-gay hysteria in the mainstream media) has distorted how the gay and lesbian community talks about sex. Over the past five years, safe sex education, seen from the mostly gay-run AIDS non-profits, has shifted from promoting healthy sexuality and sexual behavior to the “be afraid to have sex” scare tactics of the 1980s. Moreover, the fight for marriage equality—and the elevation of marriage as the idealized pinnacle of appropriate and healthy homosexuality—has moved front and center in gay politics and, to a large degree, in the imaginations of young gay people, much to their detriment...  In almost all the community discussion of marriage equality, the word “sex”—even the idea of “sex”—is glaringly absent...  The connection between AIDS and marriage here is not incidental or accidental. When the AIDS epidemic exploded, one of the first responses to it, both within and outside the queer community, was to urge gay men to stop having sex and to enter into monogamous relationships. Even after the specifics of AIDS transmission became known, much AIDS education focused on curtailing sexual experience altogether. For many gay male commentators, such as Larry Kramer, Bruce Bawer, and Gabriel Rotello, the curtailment of sexual activity was the only “cure” for the AIDS epidemic. ..  Most of us—excluding a significant part of the religious right, which favors abstinence-only sex- ed—know that people get better at sex not only by having a range of sexual experiences, often with different people, but also by thinking and talking about sex. That is the conversation that gay men and lesbians as a community are not having and that is being stifled by the power and the enormous consequence that the same-sex marriage debate—drained of sex—has assumed in our politics and lives.

Why schools must address gay issues - by Dan Woog - author of School's Out: The Impact of Gay and Lesbian Issues on America's Schools. by  Dan Woog  - Homophobia in High School. -  Challenging Homophobia in Schools: A Critical Review. (Part of the web page: "Opposing the Pro-Homosexuality Agenda" - High schools' gay-straight clubs draw fire: Students join to fight antigay harassment, while critics charge that school isn't the place for such groups. - My Queer Life: Prom Queen: As if teen years weren't hard enough, then comes the prom. What's a gay kid to do? - Gay Issues, Schools, and The Right-wing Backlash. - Gay students want help at historically black schools: Anti-gay sentiments and homophobia long have plagued the gay and lesbian community, but students and activists say that it's a different ball game among historically black colleges and universities. Cultural traditions, religious ties and previous racial oppression are among numerous factors cited for a large discrepancy between treatment of homosexuals at HBCUs and predominately white institutions.

The GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) "Safety Report Card" ratings of major school districts in the United States. GLSEN: 2003 National School Climate Survey (on Gay Harassment). - Grading Our Schools - homophobia (Last Article). (Related Information) - From: "Growing Up Gay: Are Schools Doing Enough to Support Gay Students?": "Eight U.S. school districts received the highest grade of "A"... More than twenty of the 42 large U.S. school districts received failing grades." What is an "A"? "Everything is relative," Cimino told the Herald. "If you're going to put it on a normal scale of what we should have, we're a D-. But when we're compared to what's going on in other school districts, we're an A." - Silence is the Voice of Complicity: Addressing Homophobia in Schools (Abstract).

Young , gay and homeless with few places to turn for help (Boston): " They come from throughout New England and range from age 17-30. Outreach workers say that up to 60 percent of them are either gay, bisexual or questioning their sexual orientation. Social care providers estimate that between 5-20 percent of them are HIV-positive. Many have been kicked out of their homes because they are gay, only to find themselves trapped in life on the street where the only rules that apply are doing whatever it takes to survive: even if it means selling their bodies in order to do so. Often times, these street hustlers exchange sexual favors for drugs and alcohol..." - Young, gay and homeless, with few places to turn (New York): "With just two dozen beds available for gay, lesbian and transgendered youth, they endure violence in the city's shelters, camp out in doorways in Harlem or pass the night at a 24-hour Internet café, where some trawl the Web for men who will pay for sex. ."You've got to do what you've got do to survive," says Murray, who has been a prostitute since he was 15... The number of homeless teenagers is growing, Siciliano says, inadvertently fueled by the identity-affirming pitch of gay rights advocates and the feel-good wit of television shows like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Will and Grace," which encourage adolescents to declare their sexuality to parents, who often respond by throwing them out..." - Homeless Queer Youth: "Queer street youth may have difficulty accessing services to obtain food, shelter, social services and medical attention.  When they are able to access these services, many queer youth find that they do not adequately meet their needs.  Physicians, mental health professionals, and social workers often assume that the adolescents they work with are heterosexual.  Once a queer young person realizes that this assumption has been made, s/he is unlikely to reveal that s/he is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.  If the adolescent does not reveal her/his sexual orientation, service providers may be unable to accurately assess that individual’s needs and provide appropriate information and services." - Study Examines Homeless Gay Youths.

Sleeping on the street:Shout counts 1,000 homo kids [in Toronto]. - OUT in the Cold examines the lives of homeless gay youth. - Homeless Gay Youth: For Group of Young People, Village Piers Mean Home (New York). - NYC Faulted for Inaction on Homeless Gay Youth. (Related Information) - Are we doing enough for GLBT youth, Newsletter, Spring 2001 N/A? - Growing Up Gay: Are Schools Doing Enough to Support Gay Students? - 20/20 reports on homeless gay youth. (Related information). - Homeless gay youth kicked to the curb by movement: "Amazingly, out of approximately 70 press releases posted on NGLTF’s Web site this year, only a handful are even related to gay youth and none on the issue of homeless gay youth." (Alternate Link: Homeless Youths:  Kicked to the Curb by HRC and NGLTF) - NGLTF's 2007 Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth: An epidemic of homelessness (PDF Dowload). - Homeless LGBT Youth and LGBT Youth in Foster Care (The Safe Schools Coalition).

Gay youths find safe haven in temporary housing program (Rosalind Bentley, Star Tribune, January 22, 2002): "It all became too much and she called her high school counselor for help. Many phone calls and much paperwork later, Kate, (who asked that we not publish her last name,) found herself in the Twin Cities Host Home Program, an alternative care program for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths who are homeless or living in untenable situations." - Shelter for Young Gays Gets an OK. - Helping Homeless Lesbian and Gay Teenagers UK. - School of Hard Knocks (Australia). - Another Black Experience: Gay Daddy: "The piers are gone now. AIDS decimated a generation, and is now hitting another hard, particularly young gay black men, who are being infected at the same epidemic rate as Africans. I asked Al if he thought more funding would help, and he sneered, "Not until the black community confronts homophobia head on. Not as long as parents throw their kids away." Al tries to redeem them, but for young gay black and Latino kids, not enough has changed." - Homeless Sexual Minorities at Greater Risk for Violence, Mental Illness, Substance Abuse (PubMed Abstract) -  Foster care needs to nurture gay kids N/A - by Deb Price, Dec. 2000, Detroit News). - Fact Sheet on LGBT Youth Health Needs and Issues, which schools presently fail to address. - Albert Kennedy Trust: U.K. organization helping homeless lesbian & gay teenagers. - Background on Gay Youth in Social Service Settings: Youth in social service settings are already more vulnerable than other youth. - Factors specific to GLBT Youth.

We Don't Exactly et the Welcome Wagon: The Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Adolescents in Child Welfare - 1998 - by Gerald Mallon (Review). - Lambda Takes on the Foster Care System (2001): "The incidents are almost too painful to imagine. A lesbian teenager was sexually assaulted in a group facility by a staff member who challenged her sexual orientation. A gay youth was severely beaten by eight fellow group home residents while staff ignored his screams. Another was forced by his foster family to undergo “conversion therapy.” The nightmarish anecdotes go on and on. They are devastating stories, of young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, trapped in a foster care system that often refuses to give protection, support, or even acknowledgment of their very existence." - Class-Action Suit Filed on Behalf of Gay Teens N/A (1999): "A Federal class-action lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of gay and lesbian teens in New York City's foster care system, alleging their sexual orientation routinely exposes them to physical violence and psychological abuse." - Suit Alleges Frequent Abuse of Gay Children in Foster Care. - Task Force to End Homophobia in Foster Care Unveils New Anti-Bias Tool And Recommendations.  - Gay Youth Struggle in Troubled Foster Care System; ACLU and Others Push for Change N/A: "...its recommendations on how to address the issue of homophobia in the foster care system.

Gay foster children face harassment: At the boys' homes he was sent to, he was repeatedly taunted for being effeminate. He couldn't tell staff members; they never asked. But because of his depression and the stress over hiding his orientation, Prozac entered his life, as did thoughts of suicide." - The Adolescent Alone The Experience of Loss and Depression. - Ban Discrimination in Foster Care. - Fostering shortage met by gay couples. - Overview of lesbian and gay parenting, adoption and foster care. - The Social Worker's Dilemma: "The debate goes on and will continue as long as there are conflicting views about homosexuality. Considering these different views, should social workers place children with gay men or lesbians? To make the best placement decision for children, social workers need to answer the following questions:..." -  The Influence of Competing Ideologies About Homosexuality on Nondiscrimination Policy: Implications for Social Work Education.

Summary: GLBT issues in some American public schools. - Just the Facts: On Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students and Schools (GLSTN). - Young gay men talking: school experiences. -  Exploring the plight of gay youth. - Teacher talk: "you fag..."  -  "Over 80% of schools report homophobic verbal bullying according to Playing it Safe, the first-ever report on this issue..."  - Bullying and Sexual Harassment in Schools. - Safe Schools Are For Everyone - SSAFE. - National Association of School Psychologists: Position Statement on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) Youth (formerly Sexual Minority Youth).. - Gay Teens Ignored by High School Sex Ed Classes. - If you only knew. - Touring Play Confronts Teenage Homophobia. - Suicide and Homosexual Teens: What can biology teachers do to help? (American Biology Teacher, March, 2001: Full Text) (Abstract).

Vulnerability to Violence Among Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth. - Making School Safe for Sexual Minority Students. - Sticks and Stones: "Imagine yourself at 15, trapped for six hours every day at school dealing with the comments, the shoves, the beatings, and the vandalism. This is school, where life is lived in fear and isolation. At home, your parents make jokes about gay people on TV. On Sunday, your minister says you are an abomination. You can’t date, tell your friends, or express your feelings for another human.  “Faggot.” “Dyke.” School-aged children hear these derogatory, discriminatory remarks every day. Even “that’s so gay,” innocent as it may sound, harms by association. After all, “gay” is no longer synonymous with “happy,” and “that’s so gay” is hardly a compliment."

Siecus Report (Vol 29, No. 4, 2001): Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning Youth: This SIECUS Fact Sheet reviews research on sexual orientation during adolescence and presents the available  statistics on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. Many of the studies are regional or local. Much of the research focuses on samples of LGBT youth that are disproportionately at risk. - This annotated bibliography presents a cross section of available resources on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender sexuality and related issues. Readers are encouraged to seek out additional resources in bookstores and libraries and by contacting the organizations listed at the end of this bibliography. - Homophobic Attacks on Schools and Libraries.

Release of 2003 National School Climate Survey Sheds New Light on the Experiences of LGBT Students in America’s Schools: "At the same time, more than 4 out of 5 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students report being verbally, sexually or physically harassed at school because of their sexual orientation. “This year’s findings clearly demonstrate that despite modest measurable gains, violence, bias and harassment of LGBT students continues to be the rule, not the exception, in America’s schools,” said GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings. “This research reveals what must be inherent to so many educators and parents: harassment has a negative impact on LGBT students’ academic performance and college ambitions. To ignore these numbers is an irresponsible message to all students that any promise of equal access to education remains forged and fictitious.” - GLSEN's 2005 National School Climate Survey Sheds New Light on Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Students: "75.4% of students heard derogatory remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten (89.2%) reported hearing "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" - meaning stupid or worthless- frequently or often." - 2003 National School Climate Survey: Profile of LGBT Youth in Wisconsin (PDF Download). The 2001 National School Climate Survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network Summary (PDF Download). 

The Risks of Being a Gay Teenager: Consider this quote taken from a 16 year-old gay teen’s journal: "I can’t let anyone find out I’m not straight. It would be so humiliating. My friends would hate me, I just know it. I’ve heard my parents lots of time talking about gay people. They’ve said they hate gays, and even God hates gays. It really scares me now, when I hear my family talk that way, because now they’re talking about me... Sometimes I feel like disappearing off the face of the earth." Three years later, the writer of this passage killed himself by jumping from an overpass into the path of an on-coming truck. What’s so upsetting, however, is that this passage could have come from the journal of almost any randomly-selected gay teenager. - Students Protest Anti - Gay Bias. - Kids not the only source of harassment in school: It's not easy being gay in the nation's high schools, according to a national survey that assigns some of the blame to teachers and administrators. 

Should Harassment Policies List Specific Forms Of Prohibited Harassment? - Two commentators on the subject N/A. "Yesterday [Aug. 1999], Maryland State officials caved in to pressure. They dropped from their anti-harassment proposal to the state Board of Education the language that would have explicitly prohibited, among other things, orientation-based harassment." - Why We Need to Address Gay Issues In Our Schools. (From "Breaking the Silence" available as PDF Download) - School Boards Liable for Homophobic Harassment [in Ontario]. - NCCJ’s Straight Talk About Gay Issues. - L'homophobie à l'école : en parler et agir. - Famille et qualité de vie gais et lesbiennes: Homophobie à l’école. - La prévention du suicide et les problématiques des jeunes homosexuels en milieu scolaire : Un aperçu des initiatives de la Commission scolaire de Montréal (Must Scroll). - Un nouveau document aborde la question de l'homophobie et de l'hétérosexisme dans les communautés, les écoles et les salles de classe.: Apercevoir l'arc-en-ciel (PDF Download). - Famille et qualité de vie gais et lesbiennes: Homophobie à l’école.

Breaking The Boys Code: An Exploration of Bullying Behaviour. - Forcing boys to be boys: the persecution of gender non-conforming youth  (Bibliography). - Boys and violence in schools: everybody’s business (Word Download). - Violence experts warn that many boys are getting the wrong message. What About the Boys? & Safe Boys, Safe Schools (PDF Download). - Miles of Aisles of Sexism: ""You sure wouldn't know our society has experienced almost 40 years of significant changes in the area of gender equity in education after a trip to the mall... When young boys engage in dress up, pile on the necklaces, enjoy painting their nails or select other girl toys, cultural norms or homophobia often correct the behavior immediately. In fact, in Fisher Price Playlab studies where staff members observed children behind one-way glass, they found that boys will play with "girl" toys if they think they are in a safe environment..." - The tyranny of surveillance: male teachers and the policing of masculinities in a single sex school.

Our Kind:  'We all knew that Ken was a "faggot."' -  Growing Up Normal In A Perfect World: A report on how most males are 'recruited' to abuse (includes shunning) known or suspected  'gay' adolescents. - The ‘Faggot’ Factor: The chickens came home to roost at Columbine High (Orange County Weekly, 1999) (Alternate Link). - "Boys Will Be Boys": How "masculinity" in American culture affects safety in our schools N/A. - The rumor that won't go away: "Whatever the truth about Harris and Klebold's sexual orientation, it's clear that "gay" is one of the worst epithets to use against a high school student in Littleton."

Columbine High School: "But parents and politicians both shy away from the major cause of April 20th’s shooting spree: the cruelty of children and the oppressiveness of the high school caste system in the United States." - Other side of Littleton story: anti-oddball hysteria. - Goths are dressed to kill: Every outsider gets called a fag. (Alternate Link) - The Price of Being Different: "Thousands of powerful e-mail messages have chronicled an educational system that glorifies the traditional and the normal, and brutalizes and alienates people who are or who are perceived as different..."(Alternate Link). - Teens Urge States to Protect Gay, Lesbian Students. - Why did the Columbine shooting happen:  " School "jocks" repeatedly harassed Harris and Klebold, calling them "faggots." However, in high school culture, the term "faggot" does not necessarily mean that the victim is perceived as gay; it is a generic term of hatred and derision." - Faggot = Loser.

‘Boy-code’ a factor in fatal school shootings? Gay Experts say masculinity standards overlooked in search for answers: "The perpetrators of random school shootings since 1982, all boys, were “overconformists” to the popular notion that being a “real man” means aggressively defending your manhood when it is challenged, such as through prolonged bullying, said Michael Kimmel..." - Adolescent Masculinity, Homophobia, and Violence: "Since 1982, there have been 28 cases of random school shootings in American high schools and middle schools. The authors find (a) that the shootings were not a national problem but a series of local problems that occurred in "red states" or counties (places that voted Republican in the 2000 election); (b) that most of the boys who opened fire were mercilessly and routinely teased and bullied and that their violence was retaliatory against the threats to manhood; (c) that White boys in particular might be more likely than African American boys to randomly open fire; and (d) that the specific content of the teasing and bullying is homophobia.,,"

Young R, Sweeting H, West P (2006). Prevalence of deliberate self harm and attempted suicide within contemporary Goth youth subculture: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ, 6;332(7549): 1058-61. Epub 2006 Apr 13. PubMed Abstract.  Full Text.  Commentaries: "Self harm in Goth youth subculture: Conclusion relates only to small sample." - "Self harm in Goth youth subculture: Study merely reinforces popular stereotypes." - Other Responses. - Goth subculture may protect vulnerable children. - Related Comments: "While I was never a self-harmer, I was definitely suicidal as a teenager, and have had suicidal tendencies throughout my whole life up until today... While I guess being goth reflected my depression, it didn't abate or help it after becoming goth, as the study suggests it did for self-harmers." "What is Goth? ...the goth scene has a large proportion of gays/bisexuals, and followers of non-mainstream religions and views..." - GayGothBoys.Tribe.Net: "

A History of homophobis abuses (including by teachers):  The debate over gay rights is never more heated than when it has to do with school.  - A University Professor's early life of abuse in school: Three parts - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8. - I Was A Gay High School Student. - Why is it so hard to say "gay"?! The word is freely substituted for "bad" by high school nimrods and rarely refuted. - "Quest for Excellence" portrays this struggle in "Gay Teens in School," showing what these students go through, and issues a plea for awareness that could save the lives of many teenagers (A television documentary). - Hostile Classrooms: A Novato, CA, student was beaten in February when he told other students that he was gay. (The Advocate, April 13 1999 by Lisa Meyer). - School life tough for gay teens. (Wisconsin State Journal, 2000)  - This essay is about homophobia in my school.

A Few Angry Words From My Mind (Alternate Link): "At this school we do NOT support free thinkers. We are hidden under  a cloud of obliviousness. Half the people in my school are unaware of what  is really going on. They are too busy being concerned with the petty  goings-on of being teenagers. They are struggling soo hard just to be  accepted and to fit in with the "norm". They don't realize that what  they're really doing is following their peers blindly and without a thought. Most of us are one big sheep flock. Those few who have broken away from peers their age are usually the  ones who are actually being harassed.  I think we stick in the safety of  this cloning here because we are afraid we will be harassed if we show any  differences, which is why there's such a big problem with racism and  homophobia at my school." - "I went to high school in semi-rural texas. this was a time and a place where being gay wasn't exactly tolerated very well. I don't mention this because I was a gay high school student, but for reasons which will become apparent later. my freshman year of high school, I made a mistake.."

Homosexuality and body image issues: teacher awareness: "This paper explores the understanding of sexuality and body image in schools by heterosexual and homosexual teachers... The marginalisation of students who are perceived to be homosexual or whose body shape or mannerisms do not conform to the norm is evidenced as bullying and alienation, so the implications of this research have relevence for all schools. Exerpts from interviews with gay and lesbian teachers is included for analysis."

"Protection of lesgay students," with info resources.  - Teachers must stop kids from targeting their gay classmates. - Gay Initiative Hopes to Halt Teacher Indifference (1997).- Gay kids need more than court orders N/A. - More Gay Teachers Coming out, but Not without Controversy - AP 06 Apr, 98. (Related Item: Homosexual Teachers The Focus of Debate - Students React to Teachers Coming Out. - Students React to Teachers Coming Out. - Where Are the Civil Rights for Gay and Lesbian Teachers? - CNN Interview (2002): "As your kids head back to school, do you know what their teachers are telling them? Is it appropriate for their teachers to talk about their own personal lives, specifically if they have a girlfriend or a boyfriend who happens to be the same sex? One school district in California wrestled with the issue, ultimately passing a resolution allowing teachers to discuss their sexual orientation in class. But some parents in the Hayward School District believe that that has created a "Crisis in the Classroom."

Gay teens finding more support amid hostile school hallways (CNN). - When Kids Come Out of The Closet: What to say and do when a student tells you he's gay. - Anti-Homophobia Education in a Catholic Context. - Cultural diversity: managing same-sex orientation in the classroom.- Lesbian and Gay Studies for Toronto [public school] Staff. - Toronto Schools Ban Discrimination. - Under Attack: Emotional Abuse and Violence Against GLBT Youth in America’s Homes and Public Schools.

From ERIC's Cultural Diversity Resources: - Raising Gay/Lesbian Issues in the Classroom. (PDF Download) - Improving the School Experience for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students. (PDF Download) - Sexual Minorities on Community College Campuses. - What You Can Do: Ideas and Resources for Educators. - Working to End Homophobia in Schools. - Just the Facts: On Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students and Schools. - Just the Facts: Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators, and School Personnel (PDF Dowmload). - Adolescents and AIDS. - Adolescents and AIDS: A Generation in Jeopardy. - Adolescents and HIV/AIDS (2002). 

The Truth About Gay and Lesbian Issues in the [American] Public Schools: Congressional Hearing  - Public School Programs with the focus on San Francisco, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The State of Washington; St. Paul, Minnesota. - A Response to Allegations Made by Traditional Values Coalition with a focus on Los Angeles; National Education Association; Fairfax County, Virginia Family Life Education; Des Moines, Iowa; Massachusetts; The State of Minnesota. 

The "It's Elementary: Talking about gay issues in school" 1996 Video: - Film Information. - Synopsis. Video "is a highly acclaimed film shot in first through eighth grade classrooms across the United States". - It's Elementary is a window into how teachers and school administrators can find age-appropriate, sensitive ways to teach children respect for all people, including gays and lesbians. - Review: It's Elementary: It's Slick, It's Alarming. - Negative Review. - It's Elementary: Promoting Homosexuality to Children. - Talking about homosexuality in the schools. - A Catholic Perspective. - Support for Instruction about Homosexuality in South Carolina Public Schools. -  Issues in Education: What Heterosexual Teachers Need to Know about Homosexuality. - A Door Half Open: Young People's Access to Fiction Related to Homosexuality.

Association for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues in Counseling: - Infusing Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Issues into Counselor Preparation Programs. - Gloria as a Lesbian: A Revisitation of “Three Approaches to Psychotherapy.” - The Relationship between Gay and Lesbian Identity Development and Psychological Adjustment. - A Support Group for Gay, Lesbian,  Bisexual, and Questioning Youth: A High School-Based Approach. - Advocating for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Persons:  Overcoming Barriers and Resistances. - Counseling Issues With Sexual Minorities: An Invisible Minority School. Population. - School Counselors and Sexual Minority Students. - Competencies for Counseling Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) Clients. - AGLBIC Newletter.. - Sexual Minority Youth in the Schools: Issues and Desirable Counselor Responses (PDF Download). - The Elephant In The Locker Room:  UNH Professor Examines Homophobia In Collegiate Sports.

American School Health Association - Compendium of Resolutions: Gay and Lesbian Youth in School. " the Association believes: 1) that all young persons should have an equal opportunity for quality education regardless of their sexual orientation;  2) that curriculum materials, teaching strategies, and school policies that do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation should be implemented in schools;  3) that sexual orientation should be addressed in the sexuality component of a comprehensive health instruction curriculum;  4) that school personnel should discourage any sexually oriented deprecating, harassing, and prejudicial statements injurious to students' self-esteem; and  5) that every school district should provide access to professional counseling by specially trained personnel for students who may be concerned about sexual orientation." -  Toward Understanding Homosexuality: An Agenda for Adult Christian Education's Contribution to Human Wholeness.

Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgerder Students in U.S. Schools (by Human Rights Watch): "To the more than two million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth of school age living in the United States and to those who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity, Dylan N.'s story is all too familiar. It is a story of harassment, abuse, and violence; a story of deliberate indifference by school officials who disclaim any responsibility for protecting Dylan or ensuring his right to an education; a story of escalating violence; a story of the failure of legal protection; and finally, a story of a young man denied an education because of his sexual orientation. In this report, Human Rights Watch documents attacks on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth who are subjected to abuse on a daily basis by their peers and in some cases by teachers and school administrators. These violations are compounded by the failure of federal, state, and local governments to enact laws providing students with express protection from discrimination and violence based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, effectively allowing school officials to ignore violations of these students' rights. Gay youth spend an inordinate amount of energy plotting how to get safely to and from school, how to avoid the hallways when other students are present so they can avoid slurs and shoves, how to cut gym class to escape being beaten up-in short, how to become invisible so they will not be verbally and physically attacked. Too often, students have little energy left to learn." (U.S. Gets "Failing Grade" Protecting Gay Students Widespread Bullying, Teacher Indifference in U.S. Schools.) - Report Says Schools Often Ignore Harassment of Gay Students (Must Register). - ABCNEWS.com : Abuse of Gay Students Rampant, Study Finds. - Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crime: A Guide for Schools (U.S. Department of Education, 1999).

Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing, and Sexual Harassment in School (2001): "Sexual Harassment Widespread in Nation’s Schools, New AAUW Report Finds. "Four of five students—boys and girls—report that they have experienced some type of sexual harassment in school, despite a greater awareness of school policies dealing with the issue, according to a new report, Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing, and Sexual Harassment in School by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.... According to the report, based on a national survey of 2,064 public school students in 8th through 11th grades conducted by Harris Interactive: ...Actions hurt but so do words. When given 14 examples of non-physical and physical harassment, students say they would be very upset if someone did the following: (3) Said that they were gay or lesbian (73%).... Boys are more likely than girls to report non-physical harassment in locker rooms (28% v. 15%) or restrooms (15% to 9%)." - Teasing and bullying: What can pediatricians do? (Contemporary Pediatrics, 2003): Homosexiality issues are ignored in this paper. - School of hard knocks. -School of hard knocks: education of gays and lesbians in the future. 

Hostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in American's Public Schools: "With regard to actual experience, there was a marked increase in the percentage of students being called gay or lesbian: 17% of all students in 1993 reported that they have been called gay or lesbian compared to 36% of all students in 2001. Boys today were more than two times likelier to say that they have been called gay or lesbian often or occasionally (9% in 1993 vs. 19% in 2001) and girls today were nearly three times likelier to have been called gay or lesbian (5% in 1993 vs. 13% in 2001). In both years, more boys reported having been called gay or lesbian than did girls: in 1993, 23% of boys vs. 10% of girls and in 2001, 19% of boys vs. 13% of girls." - GLSEN Troubled By New Report Saying Sexual Harassment A Problem for Most Students: "In 2001, 80% of students report having experienced sexual harassment at least once, and 25% saying they are sexually harassed often. Similar results were found in Hatred in the Hallways, a study by Human Rights Watch on the humans rights abuses against LGBT students. "We’re seeing a trend that sexual harassment is at record levels for LGBT students, with lesbian and bisexual young women being especially targeted," added Jennings. "The often sexual nature of anti-gay harassment can no longer be ignored, neither by schools nor policymakers."

Wellstone Calls for [Federal] Study on School Harassment of Gay and Lesbian Youth: (Washington, D.C., 2001) - "Citing increasing evidence of harassment of gay and lesbian students in America's schools, Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) today announced legislation to conduct a federal study on the level of sexual harassment against gay and lesbian students by peers and school officials in schools. In 1997, the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education issued guidelines specifically stating that gay and lesbian students across America have the right to a school environment free of harassment and abuse. Despite these guidelines, two studies in recent months have found evidence of widespread harassment of gay and lesbian students nationwide."

Teaching Homosexuality in Public Schools: "The Christian position is clear: Homosexuality is an abomination, and we do not teach "tolerance" of a perverse criminal behavior, any more than we would teach "tolerance" of child abuse, pedophilia, rape, murder, cocaine dealing or embezzlement." - Anti-GLSEN Web Site.

Practice Update from the National Association of Social Workers: Promoting Positive School Environments For Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Students: Survey Findings. "As social workers know, adolescence can be a challenging time for many young people. Recent studies confirm, however, that adolescence can be a particularly hard time for youths that either identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual or are youths questioning their feelings of same-sex attraction or desire for same-sex behavior (Reid & Tomaszewski, 2001). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths experience health and mental health concerns similar to their heterosexual peers, while also having to deal with the additional stressors of being identified as a sexual minority youth (stressors such as social isolation and stigma). (Ryan, 2001). Research has shown that, as a group, LGB youths appear to be at increased risk of a large number of health and mental health outcomes. For example..." (PDF Download)

Search GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. - Search BGLAD. - Search the QRD. - Search all GLBT Resource Directories. - Search Google.com. - Search Google Scholar. - Search Google's G:LBT Directory. - MSN Search. - Search findarticles.com: many full text articles and papers.

Academic Searches: Search IngentaConnect: The most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications. - Search Project Muse: Scholarly Journals Online. - Search JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive. - Search The National Library of Medicine.
 

New Hampshire: - New Hampshire Passes School Safety Bill. - Teen Lesbian Couple in New Hampshire Named "Class Sweethearts". (Anti-gay activists plan to picket at high school Protest is against lesbian couple.) - Lesbian kiss upsets US high school. 

Vermont: - Causes of Youth Violence. - Homosexuality Education in Vermont Public Schools (PDF Download). - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth in Vermont Schools.

Rhode Island: - Creating safe schools for GLBT students. - Rhode Island: Still a tough life for gay students N/S. 

Washington State: - The Safe Schools Coalition. The mission of The Safe Schools Coalition: A Public-Private Partnership in Support of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth is to help schools - at home and all over the world - become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. - Director of Public Health speaks out against anti-gay violence.

Politicians should use bully pulpit (2001): "a group of conservatives has targeted the [anti-harassment in schools] bill, believing that if, in the process of preventing harassment, it protects gay and lesbian students from being called queers, then it is a gay-rights measure. So the bill is now on life support..." - Phony fears and bullies. - High school students forge a gay-straight bond: Youths believe diversity should include sexual minorities.

Massachusetts: - All Reports From the Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth available online. - List of Report from hte Comission. -The Executive Order that created the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. - The Safe Schools Program for Gay & Lesbian Students. - Massachusetts: 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results. -  Youth Risk behavior Survey Results - 1997 - Table of Contents. - Gay / Straight Alliances: A student's Guide. - The Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth: Related Articles. Problems? - Few schools offer support to gay students (1997): some positive results in student attitude survey. - More gay bias reported at school: 161 attacks were reported last year. - Despite receiving high marks for having policies to protect gay students and teachers from harassment, Boston Public Schools fail to provide a safe learning environment. - Trans inclusion a gray area for Boston schools N/A. - Massachusetts High School to Celebrate"Transgender, Gay Day". - "Transgender Bisexual Gay and Lesbian Awareness Day" at a Massachusetts High School - major propaganda at taxpayers' expense. - Greater Boston PFLAG's Safe Schools & Communities Project.

Parents rip school over gay storybook: Lesson reignites clash in Lexington. - Exploring the experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents in school: Lessons for school psychologists (PHD Dissertation by Marjorie Cooper-Nicols): Participants in this study consisted of 13 GLB youth between the ages of 15 and 18 who were members of Project 10 East, a community GLB youth organization serving the Boston, Massachusetts area...  Other key findings include: (1) anti-discrimination policies were not clearly enforced in the schools; (2) GLB youth interviewees developed strengths; and (3) participants did not perceive school psychologists as assisting GLB youth. Implications for GLB youth in schools are discussed, and recommendations for school psychologists at the individual practice and school policy levels are highlighted. - Film shows struggle to form gay alliance.

Homosexuality Will Massachusetts Listen? - From Sept. 2, 1999  Associated Press Article "Governor's commission calls on ed board to protect gay kids": ""The commission believes that nearly a third of the state's public schools are not including gay and lesbian students in anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies." (Related Boston Herald Article) - Mass. Stance on Anti-Gay Bias In Schools Stirring Debate (Must Register, Free): "The new regulations call for schools to undertake "active efforts" to prevent discrimination, by training staff members and responding promptly to harassment when it occurs. School handbooks and codes of conduct are to be brought  up to date to reflect the ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation." - Massachusetts Schools Weigh Gay Topics. - Massachusetts High School Students and Sexual Orientation Results (2005). - Massachusetts Study Shows High Suicide Rate for Gay. -  Anti-gay bigots plan "Day of Defiance" in several Massachusetts High Schools. - Principal bans parents from pro-'gay' seminar. 

California: - SAUSD Gay and Lesbian Education Commission (GLEC) (Eliminated?). - The Los Angeles Project 10 Handbook (abstract). - Project 10 L.A. - Petaluma Educators Get Lesson in Gay Awareness. -  Related debate & a suicide. - Rampant homophobia and 'racism' at San Ramon Valley High School - 1998). (Related Item 1998: "Students at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, California forced officials to take down a display glorifying the homosexual "lifestyle" erected in the school's corridor. The exhibit was spat upon by students who yelled anti-homosexual slogans when they passed the glass-enclosed case. One youngster had circulated a petition demanding the display be sacked. He also distributed Straight Pride T-shirts which teens, in large numbers, wore.") - Teacher Gets Thousands Of Threatening Anti-Gay Emails. - School Safety & Violence Prevention for LGBT Students (PDF Download). - Fear of a Gay School: El Modena High has a nickname. Students at neighboring schools in Orange County, Calif., call it "Homo-dena," spitting out the syllables with all the cruelty and attitude that high school rivalry can disgorge. And a battle is being joined in El Modena, a battle over the right to form a student club on campus similar to ones that have become increasingly popular and controversial nationwide. - Do Schools Condone Harassment of Gay Students? - Raising Awareness Of Gay Harassment In Schools.

The CTA (California Teachers' Association) Training Program - "Gay and Lesbian Youth: Breaking the Silence. - School's Gay Club Provokes Backlash  - Ads Attack Bill Outlawing Gay Bias in Schools. - California governor signs gay rights bill - 1999: "AB 537, prohibiting discrimination and harassment of public school students who are perceived to be gay or lesbian, was originally defeated by one vote in June in the state legislature, but was re-introduced and passed by the assembly in September... 'I have seen many incidents of anti-gay mistreatment in schools.' he said. UCLA, as well as the Los Angeles Unified School District, already include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination policies." - NCLR - LGBT Students In California Public Schools. - ACLU Sues Rural California School for Anti-Gay Climate; Case Highlights National Epidemic in Rural Schools. - California Must Meet Commitment to Gay Youth. - Gay Teens Fight Back. - Scotts Valley Parents Protest Gay Tolerance. - A highly positive pro-gay/lesbian program at a San Jose's Lincoln High School.

Largest Ever Study of Anti-Gay Harassment in Schools Shows the Problem is Widespread, Dangerous and Preventable: Study Proving That Schools Can Take Steps to Improve Student Safety Has National Implications for Addressing Harassment on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. (California Safe Schools Coalition). - Make schools safe havens for gay students. - Study Finds Anti-Gay Harassment in Schools Rampant. - Gay youth become movement's newest ambassadors as they lobby to stop discrimination.  - Schools Cannot 'Out' Gay Students, Federal Judge Rules: Teen can sue district for revealing her sexual orientation to her mother. - 'So Gay' Phrase Lands Santa Rosa Schools In Court. - School works to eliminate 'gay' as offensive taunt.

Gay high school students increasingly using the courts; Unlikely allies seek another way: Gay high school students in California are increasingly using the courts and political activism to counter individual acts of discrimination and to promote tolerance. The moves, educators and legal experts say, come at a time of exponential growth of gay student clubs and an acceptance of homosexuality on high school campuses that would have been unheard of a decade ago. "It's a reflection of the students' desire to not just not be beat up, but to actually have full equality," says Carolyn Laub, executive director of the Gay Straight Alliance Network (GSAN). - Davis Student Fears More Harassment: It all happened at Harper Junior High. A student of gay parents has been harassed and called names. His parents say their car was torched and now they're threatening a lawsuit against the school if it doesn't take the anti-gay harassment more seriously. Harper Junior High School student, Zack, hasn't been to school in almost a month. He says after years of being teased because his father is gay, one day, it went too far.

Parent Services Project: The release of our groundbreaking new early childhood curriculum, Making Room in the Circle: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Families in Early Childhood Education. This curriculum has been developed to assist early childhood providers to create welcoming, high-quality environments that actively engage LGBT families, and diminish the silence, taboo and bias that target LGBT families and harm all children. - Overview. - Curricuum.  - Berkeley: Gay Friendly Schools. - Outrage over San Diego school's involvement in 'gay pride' parade.

New York: - Homosexuality and the schools. - School for Gay Students Nixed. - Gay Public High School to Open Doors This Fall. - No gay school on Long Island. - School Debate: Teach Gay Issues? "Most people don't know it, but October is officially designated Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual Heritage and History Month in School District 2 in Manhattan." - The Liverpool High School Gay/Straight Alliance. - Creating A Safe Environment Where Gay and Lesbian High School Students Can Seek Support: "More schools are offering counseling for teenagers, but by many accounts gay and lesbian students are among the least likely to receive those services." - High school: A gay old time. - Expanded gay high school becomes lightning rod. - First public gay high school to open in NYC. - The Harvey Milk School Has No Right to Exist. Discuss.

Connecticut: - Connecticut Bans Anti-Gay Discrimination in its Schools N/A. - Lesbians' Firings Fuels Outrage.  - Gay youth revolution - my perspective. - Gay Student Advocates Speak School Board Hears Of Name-Calling, Violence, Teacher Reactions: High school students who say they have been harassed and beaten up for being gay or befriending gay or lesbian students asked the school board Tuesday to take strong action to defend them in the schools. Speaking during the public comment portion of the school board meeting, students and adult advocates complained of name-calling and violence by other students. They accused teachers of sometimes suggesting that students who are victimized should consider dropping out and getting an alternative degree.

New Jersey: - New Jersey Governor Signs GLBT-Inclusive Safe School Legislation. - New Jersey High School Library Creates Homosexual Section. - New Jersey Schools Told to Protect Gay Students. - Students Protest Discrimination in Schools - Silently.

Maryland: - Md. schools pull young-adult novel: After receiving complaints from about 40 parents, a Maryland school district has pulled a young-adult novel from its curriculum, in part because of its references to homosexuality. - Gay Friendly: Students and Teachers in City Schools Combat Anti-Gay Discrimination by Forming Gay-Straight Alliances.

Illinois: - Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.  Bully pulpit: Forum takes on school toughs. - Lesbian student couple signals school change. - Kate Bornstein Urges Reversal of 'Bully Culture'. - Principal Gives High Heels on Boys the Boot. - The Coalition for education on sexual orientation. - Hostile Climate: DuPage County: Parent, anonymous flyer complain about gay subject matter in classroom. - Chicago GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network). - Chicago Students Stand Up for Gay Equality. - Judge OKs school ban of anti-gay T-shirt.

Gay penguins have a place in school libraries? "A picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin is getting a chilly reception among some parents who worry about the book’s availability to children — and the reluctance of school administrators to restrict access to it."

Indiana: - Tension at high school over gay rights: Tensions over a Day of Silence in support of gay rights led to a lockdown at New Castle Chrysler High School. - Tension Over Gay Rights Rally Leads To School Lockdown: Rumors Of School Threat Prompt Lockdown.

Washington, D.C.: Summersgill urges school policy on student harassment. - Malek Calls for Action on Student Harassment Policy. - Help Metro DC PFLAG make schools safe for all students. 

Texas: - The Walt Whitman Community School of Dallas.  - Walt Whitman high point: a Dallas school for gay students was on its last leg when MTV taped the new documentary School's Out, but now everything is looking up. - School's Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas (2003) (TV). - Texas School Cancels Counselor Training On Gay Youth. - Gay Study: Students Live in Fear (2001): "Gay students in North Texas speak out against the abuse they say they face in school. A new study calls the harassment a violation of human rights. Texas gay and lesbian groups are demanding that school leaders protect the students from verbal and physical attacks." - HISD May Protect Sexual Orientation in Student Code of Conduct. - Gay Houston youth welcome new policy: Students who were subject to harassment in area schools say prohibiting anti-gay comments and acts will help. - Anti-gay bias rages in Dallas schools: 16-year-old anti-discrimination policy not enforced; committee forms to demand its implementation.

Michigan: - Schools tackle the job of protection for gays:  "Kids can be cruel. So can teachers. Some people who wouldn't dream of using a racial epithet think nothing of punctuating a joke with a limp wrist, pronouncing something "soooo gay" or calling someone a faggot." - Gay students struggle to cope with attitudes:  "When Lana Madigan was in ninth grade at Garden City High School her peers regularly yelled "dyke" when they saw her walking to class... Seventy-eight percent of 104 principals who responded to the survey said there were no openly gay, lesbian or bisexual students at their schools and 82 percent said they were not aware of any antigay harassment." - State requires schools to stop bullying: Policy could highly impact lgbt students: "In an era characterized by school shootings, bullying, especially anti-gay bullying, has received much attention as a result. According to the national offices of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, in five of the eight most recent school shootings the shooters were taunted as being gay." - In Metro Detroit: - 

Utah: - Hostile Utah Parents Try to Force Gay Teachers into a Classroom Closet. - Students and Salt Lake City School Board End Feud over Gay-Supportive Clubs. - Homophobic Utah PTA Angry at PFLAG Ad. - Huntsman Signs 'Gay School Club' Bill Into Law.

Kentucky: - Kentucky Fried Homophobia: This afternoon in Boyd County, Kentucky, a group of local ministers is holding a rally to protest a decision by the local high school to allow a gay-straight alliance to form. Last Monday, almost half the student body stayed home from school to protest the decision.- Investigation under way in school divided over homosexual issue: An English teacher in Kentucky is under investigation for showing her students a clip of "Brokeback Mountain," the controversial film about a homosexual relationship between two sheepherders. - Boone County High School in Northern Kentucky Approves Gay-Straight Alliance: Under threat of being sued by the Kentucky Equality Association for delaying the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance, Boone County High School Official's give it a green light.

Iowa: - For some, school is a place to learn to be afraid. - GLSEN Expresses Concern as Iowa School Postpones Disney Trip Due to "Gay Days". - Gay Students Deserve Protection. - The GLBT Forum: Making Schools Safe for Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth. - Iowa Schools Get LGBT Friendly. - Iowa High School Students Protest Cancellation of Play.  - GLSEN Hails Signing of Comprehensive Safe Schools Bill in Iowa.

Indiana: - Policy Not Enough to Curb Harassment in Local Schools: A report released Friday by a local gay advocacy group charges that many area schools are hostile climates for gay students... The Indiana Youth Group, a support organization for gay teens, collected reports from more than 250 of its members, ages 12 to 20, during the spring semester of 2001. The group found that Tech and Broad Ripple high schools in Indianapolis Public Schools lead the list for physical and verbal harassment from students... The complaints include everything from anti-gay comments to physical assaults, said Rob Connoley, director of the Indiana Youth Group. In almost all cases, students did not report the incidents to school officials, fearing repercussions... The report mirrors results of a national Human Rights Watch report released in May that found that gay students are subjected to near-constant verbal and physical bullying. School officials often look the other way, or even encourage it, according to the report." 

Wisconsin: - Jamie Nabozny Wins Sexual Harassment Suit.- GLSEN South Central Wisconsin: About GLSEN.. - Homosexual teacher loses appeal in taunting suit: " A veteran teacher who sued his bosses because children taunted him after he declared himself a homosexual has lost his civil rights case in federal appeals court." - Project Kurt: Kurt Dyer’s committed efforts to create a support program for young lesbians and gays in Milwaukee made the acclaimed Project Q youth program a reality.

Colorado: - Gay Teen Attacked By Fellow High School Students: Centennial High School Student Must Undergo Surgery For Wounds. - Colorado Attack Illustrates Need for Schools to Address Anti-LGBT Bias, Behavior: Days before the National Day of Silence, the brutal bias-based attack by six Pueblo youth against a fellow Centennial High School student last week because of his sexual orientation highlights a troubling and far too common problem in our nation’s schools. The six students drove past the 15-year-old several times as he walked home from school, yelling anti-gay slurs at him. Eventually, one of the students got out of the car and threw a Lysol can, breaking the 15-year-old’s nose and causing enough damage to require surgery.

Oregon: - GLSEN Hails Defeat of Oregon's Anti-gay No. 9. - Oregon Gay Straight Alliance. -  Homophobia at West Linn High School: Brandon Flyte, a student at West Linn High School in West Linn, Oregon, was recently expelled for airing a video project he had been assigned in class which includes a same-sex "snuggle" scene. The film, Brokeback High, is a "gay love story" based on themes from Brokeback Mountain, but set in a modern day high school. The shot above was the one that got him expelled.

Florida: - Group says bullying sparks school violence - Coalition for gays blames harassment for recent problems. - Teens Urge States to Protect Gay, Lesbian Students: Gay and lesbian teen-agers, frustrated by the harassment they get at school, are asking their state legislators to step in and pass laws that would do what their teachers and principals are failing to do: protect them. - Gay students, cross-dressers face resistance. - Clothes Pose Question: Are Gay Students Safe? - High school senior came 'out' - and was expelled. (Alternate Link) - Judge rules high school club can meet pending outcome of lawsuit. - Gay-Straight Alliance can have club at school. - Judge Orders Florida School District To Allow Gay Club.

Pridelines Youth Services: Dedicated to educate youth in a safe and nurturing environment and to promote dialogue that results in positive development and social change.

Florida school board vilifies gays. - Florida Legislator Verbally Attacks Youth Lobbyists N/A: "God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and he is going to destroy you and a lot of others." (Related News Item). - Florida Lawmaker's Attack on Gay Youths Criticized Widely. - Continuing Fallout Plagues Florida Legislator. - Florida Congressmen Apologize to Gay Students N/A.

Louisiana: - Boy says mom is gay; school rebukes him.

Georgia: - Anti-gay bullying common in Ga. schools: Gay-straight alliances help students cope, studies show.

Virginia: - Pressure Delays Fairfax, Virginia, 'Gay' School Policy. - Parents Protest 'Homosexual Rights' in Virginia School District. - School district cancels gay author event. - Gay-Themed High School Play Sparks Va. Protests. 

Missouri: - ACLU Scolds Missouri High School for Censoring Gay Student. - Gay student sues school after he was disciplined for wearing T-shirts featuring gay pride messages. 

Maine: - Gay Issues: Maine schools fail GLSSEN test (July, 2004): "Maine’s schools are failing miserably when it comes to protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students — at least that’s what an exhaustive report from the Washington, DC–based Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSSEN) announced last week. They gave Maine and its pro-gay policies an "F," with an overall score of 35 (nope, that’s not even close to passing), snuggling the state at number 19 between Iowa and Virginia. However, there is a caveat — 41 other states failed, too, and, says Betsy Smith, the executive director of Equality Maine (formerly MLGPA), Maine would have gotten a better score if GLSSEN hadn’t relied on dated data." 

"Hawai`i's schools, both public and private, are dangerous places for youths perceived to be lesbian, gay or transgendered." - Hawaii Paper's Commentary Urges Protections for Gay Youth. - Committee sponsors first prom for gay high-schoolers.  'O Au No Keia: Voices from Hawai'i's Mahu and Transgender Communities. 

Alaska: - Gay/Lesbian Support Groups in High School: Possible community problems.

Hate in the Heartland (by Kerry Lobel): - "Every town shared similar themes. As gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning youth come to visibility, their school districts have been ill-equipped to counsel them or ensure their safety." 

Canada: Reaching Out: A Report on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth Issues in Canada. Prepared for the United Church of Canada by John Fisher, Executive Director, EGALE, 1999. (Printer Friendly Version) - EGALE's Safe Schools Campaign. -  A New Look at Homophobia and Heterosexism