All GLSEN Chapters are required to structure its programming so that it advances GLSEN’s Public Policy Platform. Chapters are not expected to work on all nine planks of the Platform simultaneously, but are expected to work on each of the planks over time. This resource provides a few examples of the many possible community needs and Chapter goals related to each plank of the Public Policy Platform. If you have questions about the Public Policy Platform or how your Chapter can apply it to its work, please contact your regional field organizer.
GLSEN affirms the right of all students in publicly-funded K-12 schools to an education free of discrimination and harassment, and calls upon public policy making bodies to ensure equal educational access by adopting and enforcing measurable non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.
Sample Community Needs
- 58.3% of students do not feel safe in their school because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender
- Over 90% of LGBT youth report that they sometimes or frequently hear homophobic remarks in their school (words such as “faggot,” “dyke,” or “queer”).
- The majority of students reported experiencing some form of harassment or violence (69%). Most reported verbal harassment (61.1%), nearly half (46.5%) reported sexual harassment (having suggestive comments made, being touched inappropriately, etc.) and over one-quarter (27.6%) reported experiences of physical harassment (being shoved, pushed, etc.).
- Of those students who reported verbal harassment, almost half (45.9%) said that they experienced it daily.
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- Adopt a school board non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy that include sexual orientation and gender identity/expression (Local School Board Members).
- Pass a state law amending the education code to prevent discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression (Chairs, Education Committees of state legislative bodies).
GLSEN affirms the right of all students in parochial and private/Independent school students to an education free from discrimination and harassment and calls upon the boards and administrators of these schools to ensure equal educational access by adopting and enforcing measurable non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression.
Sample Community Needs
- Students in private or independent schools face similar harassment and discrimination as those in public schools.
- The local “school choice” or “voucher” program does not require private schools in the program to have the same nondiscrimination or harassment protections as the public school.
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- Make polices protecting enrolled and prospective students from discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression a requirement for accreditation of independent schools (Board members of state independent school association).
- Require private schools that accept publicly-funded vouchers to provide the same protection from discrimination and harassment as the public school (Local school board members, state legislators or city council members).
- Pass nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity in individual schools (Board members of the individual schools).
GLSEN believes that learning about the diversity of humankind is an essential part of education in a democratic society, and affirms the right of students to learn in classroom environments that nurture diversity. GLSEN encourages schools to allow students in all grade levels access to curricula, trainings, texts and materials –in all areas including but not limited to, history, literature, family life, sexuality and health education, that are relevant, comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically-accurate and inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. GLSEN calls upon public policy makers to remove any prohibitive laws that forbid or discourage in-school discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.
Sample Community Needs
- The school district has a policy that reads: “Sexual Orientation as it relates to homosexuality and bisexuality, is a divisive subject matter not necessary to the instruction of students in public schools. Notwithstanding any other law or rule, the instruction of behaviors relating to homosexuality and bisexuality shall not be presented in a public school in a manner which encourages, promotes or sanctions such behaviors.”
- The state’s health education curriculum standards includes: “The program of instruction provided for in this section may not include a discussion of alternate sexual lifestyles from heterosexual relationships including, but not limited to, homosexual relationships except in the context of instruction concerning sexually transmitted diseases.”
- The lesson plans and texts of the school districts history, literature and family curricula contain no reference to LGBT people.
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- Reverse so-called “abstinence until marriage” and “no promotion of homosexuality” laws and policies (Members of the state legislature or local school board).
- Require comprehensive, age-appropriate and medically-accurate sexuality education curriculum (Members of the State Board of Education or members of the local school board).
- Include sexual orientation and gender identity into the state’s or district’s multicultural education polices and guidelines (Members of the State Board of Education or members or the local school board).
GLSEN affirms the right of all students to participate safely and fully in all aspects of school life, including, but not limited to, school-sponsored co-curricular and extra-curricular programs and activities such as athletics, clubs, and school programs. GLSEN encourages the adoption of policies, procedures and trainings that ensure that these opportunities are made accessible to all students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/ expression.
Sample Community Needs
- Several local schools sponsor a Boy Scouts of America troop and offer participation as an extra-curricular activity.
- Only opposite-sex couples are permitted to attend school-sponsored dances and proms.
- In a school climate survey, LGBT students reported facing the most serious physical and verbal harassment in the school gymnasium locker room, on buses to and from school, and in the cafeteria during lunch and mandatory study halls
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- Pass a policy preventing public schools from sponsoring Boy Scouts of America programs until the Boy Scouts of America changes its discriminatory policy (Members of the local school board).
- Pass a policy allowing same-sex couples and single students to attend school functions, including the prom and homecoming dance (Members of the local school board).
- Require in-service training of athletic department staff (Members of the local school board; District superintendent; School principal)
- Require non-academic school staff (such as bus drivers, hall monitors and cafeteria workers) to be trained on how to intervene in anti-LGBT harassment (Members of the local school board; district superintendent; school principal).
GLSEN affirms the right of all students to have accurate) information relating to LGBT people, history, culture and ideas, and to have access to such information through school libraries, guidance, health services and all other resources. GLSEN encourages the adoption of policies, procedures and trainings that ensure that these educational opportunities are made accessible to all students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
Sample Community Needs
- The school’s guidance office has numerous pamphlets on dating and relationships for teenagers, but all assume the couples are heterosexual.
- Computers in the school’s libraries and classrooms use Internet filtering software that prevents access to web sites with information about LGBT people and issues.
- A search on the schools’ library holdings database (or card catalog) yields almost no listings under the terms “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” or “transgender.”
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- Include easily accessible resources and referral information for LGBT or questioning students in the guidance offices (local school board members, district superintendent, the districts head of guidance counseling).
- Remove the Internet filtering software or install software that allows for access to information about LGBT issues and other issues commonly censored by filters (School board members).
- Approve funding for purchasing LGBT-inclusive books and other library holdings (School board members, superintendent, head librarian).
GLSEN values the extraordinary leadership of young people and affirms the right of students to organize and lead school-supported Gay-Straight Alliances and other appropriate groups that address LGBT issues in schools.
Sample Community Needs
- Some school principals are denying students’ applications to form Gay-Straight Alliances.
- The local school board passes a resolution calling for principals to require a 9-month “waiting period” before allowing for the formation of any club with a “controversial” topic.
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- The school board president will instruct the superintendent to send a memo to all school principals informing them that they may not deny students’ applications to form Gay-Straight Alliances (School board members).
- Make uniform and timely the approval process for student-initiated clubs (School board members, superintendent).
GLSEN believes that all school employees need pre-service and in-service training that includes accurate information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues and people. GLSEN calls upon boards and administrators to provide these trainings for current school employees and those studying to enter the profession as part of comprehensive training.
Sample Community Needs
- Colleges of Education provide no diversity training on LGBT issues.
- Teachers want to include LGBT issues into their existing curricula, but don’t know how.
- A majority of teachers surveyed reported that LGBT students face no more harassment than other students.
- Although almost all of the students in a survey reported hearing anti-LGBT remarks from other students, over a third of the youth reported hearing homophobic remarks from faculty or school staff.
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- Add issues of sexual orientation and gender identity to the diversity and “safe schools” curriculum all future teachers attending the state’s largest college of education are required to take (College or University Board of Trustees).
- The district’s staff development department will offer free curriculum resources and lesson plans to interested teachers (School board members, staff development director for the district).
- The district will require mandatory sensitivity training on LGBT issues for teachers and school staff (School board members, principal).
GLSEN understands that all school employees best serve students when they have workplaces that are free from discrimination and harassment. GLSEN calls upon public policy makers to adopt and enforce measurable non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.
Sample Community Needs
- When LGBT teachers come out they are fired, forced to resign or are reassigned to administrative positions.
- LGBT staff do not have equivalent benefits as non-LGBT staff.
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- Pass a nondiscrimination anti-harassment policy protecting staff from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression (Members of the school board).
- Change the district’s benefits package to provide the same benefits for same-sex partners as married heterosexual couples (Members of the school board).
GLSEN supports the rights of all parents/families to participate in their children’s school activities and calls upon public policy makers and school officials to adopt and enforce practices that recognize and support diverse families.
Sample Community Needs
- Families with same-sex parents (and non-traditional families) are not recognized on school forms.
- The elementary curriculum assumes all families are traditional families headed by opposite-sex parents.
Sample Goals (and decision-makers)
- All district forms and permission slips are gender-neutral, and do not assume that students are in a two-parent household with a mother and a father (Members of the school board, superintendent).
- Include LGBT and “non-traditional” families in the elementary school curriculum (Members of the school board).
