1.0American Civil Liberties UnionDouglas De Jesus/news/author/ddejesusrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="JtOaN9sGxj"><a href="/documents/library-lgbt-youth-schools-resources-and-links">LGBTQ Youth & Schools Resource Libary</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="/documents/library-lgbt-youth-schools-resources-and-links/embed#?secret=JtOaN9sGxj" width="600" height="338" title="“LGBTQ Youth & Schools Resource Libary” — American Civil Liberties Union" data-secret="JtOaN9sGxj" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! 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We've gathered some of the best information we have plus great stuff from other organizations and websites on this page to help you find things that can help you learn more about your rights and what you can do to make your school a safer, more welcoming place. General Resources Equal Access Act/Gay-Straight Alliances Harassment Free Speech/Free Expression/Prom Privacy Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Student Resources Help for Youth Considering Suicide Web Filtering at Your School Info for LGBTQ College Students General Resources Know Your Rights! A Guide for LGBTQ High School Students A brief overview of the legal problems that LGBTQ youth encounter in their schools most often. A printable PDF version is available here. GLSEN: A national organization devoted to LGBTQ schools issues. Be sure to check out the index of all their research and studies. Get Yr Rights: A network created by Streetwise & Safe and BreakOUT! to provide curriculum, toolkits, and strategies to youth doing local work to learn about and inform other youth about their legal rights. Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel: A booklet for educators by the American Psychological Association that debunks the myths of the so-called “Ex-Gay” movement and helps school officials make educated, informed decisions when dealing with sexual orientation issues in their schools. The Unfair Criminalization of Gay and Transgender Youth: This research brief by the Center for American Progress provides an overview of the experiences of LGBTQ youth in the juvenile justice system. Welcoming Schools from Human Rights Campaign: An LGBTQ-inclusive approach to addressing family diversity, gender stereotyping and bullying and name-calling in kindergarten through 5th grade learning environments. Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project: This project gives ideas for students and parents to take steps within their own schools to make school sports a more inclusive, safe space for LGBTQ students, including resources on Title IX as it relates to the protection of transgender athletes. Equal Access Act/Gay-Straight Alliances How to Start a GSA video: A short online video outlining the steps students can take to start a GSA at any public school. How to Start a GSA guide: A how-to guide on starting a GSA at your school. A printable PDF version is available here. GSA Mission Statement Examples: Your school may require you to write a mission statement for your club. Here are a few good examples from GSA clubs around the U.S. Open Letter to Schools About GSAs: An open letter to school administrators about why they must allow students to form GSAs. You can print this out and give a copy to your school when you turn in your application to start your club. GSA Federal Court Victories: A Fact Sheet for LGBTQ High School Students: Since the first court case involving a school that tried to prevent a GSA club from forming, over a dozen federal courts have upheld students’ right to form these clubs at public schools – and the ACLU has been involved in most of those cases. Here is information on many of those cases. A printable PDF version is available here. U.S. Department of Education guidance on GSA clubs and the Equal Access Act: An open letter from the federal government about students’ right to form GSAs in public schools. The letter includes studies and case law and makes it clear that public schools are legally required to allow students to start GSAs and schools must treat GSAs the same as any other clubs. There is also another document with more legal citations that goes with it; you should include it if you give this letter to your school. It's a Word document and can be downloaded here. GSA Network: A California-based organization that exists to support GSAs. The resource section of their site has lots of ideas for starting a GSA as well as activities your GSA can do once the club is established, and there's other good information to be found throughout their site. Gay-Straight Alliances: Ground Zero for School Tolerance: An article written for teachers by teachers from Education World magazine, explaining why GSAs should be allowed at schools. You can print this out and give a copy to your school when you turn in your application to start your club. Information on the federal Equal Access Act: A good basic history and explanation of the law that protects your right to form a GSA, on the ReligiousTolerance.org website. Wikipedia's entry on the federal Equal Access Act: Summarizes the details of the law and includes a link to the full text of the law. Youth in Motion: Provides free LGBTQ themed movies, with professionally created curricula and action guides, to student clubs and educators in middle and high schools. Harassment Open Letter to Schools About Addressing Anti-LGBTQ Bullying: An open letter to school administrators about why they are legally obligated to protect students from anti-LGBTQ bullying. You can print this out and give a copy to your school. The Cost of Harassment: A Fact Sheet for LGBTQ High School Students: An overview of the nearly four million dollars' worth of successful harassment lawsuits brought by LGBTQ students against the schools that did nothing to help them. A printable PDF version is available here. Tips: What You Can Do To Make Schools Safer: A few ideas about things schools, students, and parents can do to reduce harassment. 2017 GLSEN National School Climate Survey: The most recent national survey from GLSEN about attitudes towards LGBTQ students in our nation's schools, the prevalence of harassment and bullying towards LGBTQ students, and school safety. Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History: A documentary from our friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center about Jamie Nabozny, a Wisconsin student who sued the school that turned its back on him when he was mercilessly harassed and assaulted by classmates because he is gay. Jamie's case set an important legal precedent that protects LGBTQ students in public school to this day. The 40-minute documentary film is available at no charge to schools and educators. The Principal’s Perspective: School Safety, Bullying and Harassment: A study of 1,580 public school principals by GLSEN in collaboration with the National Association of Secondary School Principals which found that half of principals view bullying as a serious problem at their schools, yet they appear to underestimate the extent of harassment that LGBTQ students experience. Teaching Tolerance: A program of the Southern Poverty Law Center with lots of information and resources on how to reduce bigotry and bias and foster communities that value diversity. Bullying and LGBT Youth: Facts and statistics from Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) about the harmful effects of anti-gay bullying and harassment in schools. StopBullying.gov: A website that collects all of the federal government's resources on bullying in one place. U.S. Department of Education "Dear Colleague Letter" on bullying and harassment: An open letter from the federal government that makes it clear that schools have a legal obligation to address anti-gay harassment. The letter includes studies and case law to demonstrate schools’ responsibility to equally protect all members of their student body. California Safe Schools Coalition: Focused on the state of California, but many of this organization's resources could be useful in other states, especially the information at its Tools section. Safe Schools Coalition: A coalition of organizations based in Washington state that serves schools, students, and parents throughout the U.S., with extra focus on Washington. Their site features training materials, information, and an extensive links section. Free Speech/Free Expression/Prom Speaking Out with Your T-Shirt: T-shirts are a common way for students to express their views, and schools often try to censor this form of speech, especially when it's about LGBTQ people. If you're thinking about wearing an LGBTQ-positive t-shirt to school and you expect trouble, here's what you should know and what to expect. A printable PDF version is available here. Open Letter to Schools About LGBTQ Censorship: A letter to principals and educators explaining the legal requirement that schools allow students to wear clothing or accessories with slogans or symbols that express support for LGBTQ people. You can print this out and give a copy to your school. Open Letter to Schools About Gendered Dress Codes: Having a dress code for boys that is different than it is for girls is illegal, whether that's the everyday dress code or the requirements for prom, graduation, or other special event. This explains why to school officials. Open Letter to Schools About Disciplining LGBTQ Students for Displays of Affection: This letter explains to schools why they shouldn't punish LGBTQ students who hold hands or display affection in other ways any more harshly than they do straight students for the same behavior. Open Letter to Schools about Day of Silence: A letter to principals and educators explaining Day of Silence, ways to support students who are participating, and obligations schools have to protect students' safety and freedom of speech. Open Letter to Schools about Ally Week: A letter to principals and educators explaining Ally Week, ways to support students who are participating, and obligations schools have to protect students' safety and freedom of speech. Open Letter to Schools about LGBTQ Students' Dates for School Events: Every year, the ACLU receives calls from students whose schools have told them that they cannot bring a same-sex date to prom or homecoming, or that they can bring their date of choice but can't participate in all the same ways that their heterosexual and cisgender classmates can. This letter explains to schools that this is illegal. Know Your Prom Night Rights! A Quick Guide for LGBTQ High School Students: There are laws protecting your right to be yourself at the prom, and this handout can help you learn about them so that you too can be safe and have fun on the big night! Wikipedia's entry on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Summarizes the details of the amendment and includes the full text of the amendment. Privacy Letter to School Officials Regarding LGBTQ Student Privacy: A letter to schools regarding LGBTQ students' right to privacy at school. You can print this out and give a copy to your school. Transgender/Nonbinary/Gender Nonconforming Student Resources Know Your Rights: A Guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students: This guide from the ACLU and our colleagues at GLSEN provides information for trans and gender nonconforming students about their rights at school regarding harassment, dress code, dates for prom and other formal dances, and more. Schools in Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools: This guide from the ACLU, NCLR, Gender Spectrum, and HRC guide is written for administrators, teachers, parents, and other adults who work with youth. It covers topics ranging from basic concepts of gender and the importance of affirming gender identity, to best practices for restroom access and working with unsupportive parents. Open Letter to Schools About Gendered Dress Codes: Having a dress code for boys that is different than it is for girls is illegal, whether that's the everyday dress code or the requirements for prom, graduation, or other special event. This letter explains why to school officials. Fact Sheet: Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Youth in School: A resource-filled fact sheet created by the Sylvia Rivera Law Project about the issues rights of transgender youth at school. While some of the info on this fact sheet is specific to New York state only, it's a good general overview of terminology and the type of discrimination transgender and gender nonconforming youth face at school. Transgender Model District Policy (PDF): GLSEN's model school policy on how to treat transgender students, containing vocabulary definitions, commentary on discrimination, federal protection, parental involvement, dress code, and how to deal with any media attention and privacy policies. Supporting Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students: Video of GLSEN webinar on best practices for educators working with transgender and gender nonconforming students. Gender Spectrum: An organization that provides education, resources and training to help schools, health care providers, and family service agencies create a more gender sensitive and supportive environment for all children including gender variant and transgender youth. Gender Odyssey: An organization that hosts conferences and other means of support for transgender children and their families. Mermaids: A UK support group for transgender children and teenagers which offers a variety of information. TransYouth Family Advocates: A coalition of parents, friends and caring adults dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the medical and cultural challenges faced by children with gender variant and gender questioning identities and the families who love them. Gender Diversity: This organization provides family support, works with schools, and provides community-building services to improve the well-being for people of all gender identities and expressions. Help for Youth Considering Suicide Elsewhere on the Web The Trevor Project: A national suicide and crisis prevention resource for LGBTQ youth, including a 24-hour hotline (866-4-U-TREVOR/866-488-7386), as well as a Q&A forum, a live chat, blog, and many other resources for youth, educators, and parents. Suicide.org: A non-profit suicide prevention informational and educational resource whose website offers support and links to articles pertaining to LGBTQ youth suicide. The site's homepage also has links to multiple suicide prevention hotlines (with both talk and text options) and resources for suicide survivors and the family and friends of suicidal individuals. Hetrick-Martin Institute: HMI, the home of the Harvey Milk High School, provides multiple resources pages with links to guidance on dealing with bullying and other LGBTQ youth specific issues. It Gets Better Project: The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBTQ people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBTQ community that they are not alone. ACLU Staffers' "It Gets Better" Videos: We made our own videos to contribute to the It Gets Better Project, featuring several LGBTQ staffers from the national ACLU's New York and Washington, D.C. offices. Web Filtering at Your School Don't Filter Me: Web Content Filtering in Schools: Our campaign to end viewpoint-discriminatory web filtering that blocks access to LGBTQ-positive web content in public schools. Letter to School Officials Regarding Web Filtering: This letter explains to public schools that using web filtering software the blocks students' access to pro-LGBTQ websites is illegal and unconstitutional. You can print this out and give a copy to your school. M86 filtering fact sheet: If your public school district uses the M86 web filter and is blocking positive LGBTQ websites, this fact sheet tells you how to get your school to fix it. Websense filtering fact sheet: If your public school district uses the Websense web filter and is blocking positive LGBTQ websites, this fact sheet tells you how to get your school to fix it. Blue Coat filtering fact sheet: Blue Coat’s web filtering software has a category called “LGBT.” Blue Coat created this category in 2007 to separate non-sexual LGBTQ websites from sexually explicit ones, in order to make the non-sexual LGBTQ content more accessible for students. But some schools and libraries have blocked this category in the mistaken belief that the category was designed to include sexually explicit websites. In order to dispel this confusion, Blue Coat has updated its definition of this category. Read about the updates here. Info for LGBTQ College Students Campus Pride: This national nonprofit serves LGBTQ and ally student leaders and campus organizations through leadership development, support programs, and services to create safer, more inclusive LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. Their resources include the Campus Pride Index, a database of information on LGBTQ-friendly colleges nationwide, and their "Lil' Purple Backpack" resource guide. The LGBTQ Friendly Colleges & Student Resources guide provides information on resources students can use to help make college a more welcoming and supportive experience.