Tools for Developing and Implementing a Safe Schools Campaign
Mar 22, 2007
A national problem, bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression have become all too commonplace in America’s public grade schools. Students report that language such as “that’s so gay” is now commonplace, and many students report being subject to verbal and physical assault because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students report feeling less safe in their schools
than non-LGBT students. And research conducted by GLSEN documents the negative impact bullying and harassment has on student achievement: LGBT students who are bullied and harassed have significantly lower grade point averages than those LGBT students who do not experience bullying and harassment.
Every student should have access to a quality education, regardless of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. And yet our research documents that this is not the case, because bullying and harassment makes students feel unsafe, interferes with their ability to learn, and undermines the educational process in general. We know that the age old arguments such as “boys will be boys” or bullying and harassment is part of growing up don’t hold up, and more importantly, both substantially undermine the academic achievement of students and their ability to succeed as adults.
One of the several ways that GLSEN has attempted to address this problem is through the passage of safe schools laws and policies that prohibit bullying and harassment of all students, regardless of their sexual orientation. To achieve this, GLSEN has worked with local, state and national coalitions, elected officials to pass legislation and policies that are comprehensive (requires policy development, reporting mechanisms and educator and student training) and enumerate the categories of students protected (including actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity).
Over the past year, GLSEN has developed a range of tools that we are making available to individuals and groups working at the local, state and national levels to aid with safe schools campaigns. These tools are designed to provide the kinds of information necessary to launch, sustain and achieve effective safe schools campaigns. These include an example of legislation that might be introduced at the state level, information on the components that make up a comprehensive safe schools law, the reasons why enumeration of students who should be protected from bullying and harassment is so important, and information on how to launch a safe schools campaign, including coalition development and guidelines for student involvement.
Over the next several months you will find new documents on this web site including a discussion of parental notification legislation and the ways in which those bills will make it more difficult for gay straight alliances to be formed, information on court cases where bullying and harassment are involved that have resulted in significant damages being paid out by local school districts, and guidelines for establishing effective youth and adult partnerships when mounting safe schools campaigns.
We invite you to use these documents (see RELATED DOCUMENTS in the right hand column) as you move forward with your own safe schools initiative. We also ask that you share with us your opinions on the usefulness of the information provided. If you have any questions or concerns or require further assistance, please contact Eric Masten (emasten@glsen.org).
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