Sample Community Needs Assessment

This sample community needs assessment is a model assessment for Chapters completing the Annual Chapter Accreditation Application. It includes sections on (a) methodology, (b) results, and (c) recommendations.

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Youth Speak: School Climate Survey

1. Introduction and Summary

GLSEN historically has focused on policy – specifically, policies related to protective and inclusionary measures regarding sexual orientation. However, it is important to keep in mind that policy and practice are two very different things. Positive school district policies related to sexual orientation may not necessarily be implemented fully and LGBT students may find their school to be a hostile, unfriendly place. With this in mind, GLSEN conducted a survey of youth affiliated with GLSEN chapters and other groups and organizations for LGBT youth.

The results from this School Climate Survey demonstrate that, for many of our nation’s LGBT youth, school can be an unsafe and even dangerous place. School is a place where homophobic remarks are frequently heard by our participants– often by faculty and students. Most of the youth in our survey reported being verbally harassed; almost half reported sexual harassment, and over one-quarter reported being physically harassed. Even students in a school district with supportive policies regarding sexual orientation, like Philadelphia, frequently reported difficulties with harassment and found their schools to be unsafe. It is important to note that because participants were recruited from LGBT-friendly youth organizations, they may not necessarily representative of all LGBT youth around the country. The experience of LGBT who do not have access to or do not make use of such support systems may have a very different experience in school – possibly even worse.

2. Methodology

The survey was distributed to the staff or volunteers of the youth-oriented organizations who in turn distributed it to their constituents. In this survey, youth were asked about their school climate: overall comfort level, frequency of homophobic remarks heard, experiences with verbal, physical and sexual harassment and experience with physical violence related to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

A total of 496 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender youth from 32 states completed the survey. (Participants who did not indicate their sexual orientation or who chose to write in “Other” were included in the analysis with the LGBT youth. It is possible that some of these students were not comfortable identifying themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender on the survey or that they were currently questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity.)

Youth were asked whether they had heard the words such as “faggot,” “dyke,” or “queer” in their school and, if so, who made these remarks (student, faculty/staff or both). Youth were also asked how frequently they had heard homophobic remarks in their classes, the hallways, the bathroom or locker room, on school buses or on the field or in the gym: never, rarely, sometimes or frequently.

3. Results

Overall Comfort in School

• Most of the youth did not feel safe in their school because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (58.3%, n=267).
• Over a third of the youth did not feel comfortable speaking to school staff about LGBT issues (38.2%, n=179).

Homophobic Remarks in School

• Over 90% (91.4%) of LGBT youth reported that they sometimes or frequently hear homophobic remarks in their school (words such as “faggot,” “dyke,” or “queer”).
• Almost all of the youth reported hearing these remarks from other students (99.4%, n=481).
• Over one-third of the youth reported hearing homophobic remarks from faculty or school staff (36.6%, n=177).
• Youth most frequently heard homophobic remarks in school hallways or in classrooms.
  • Hallways: 89.8% (n=439) of youth reported “frequently” or “sometimes”
  • Classrooms: 85.8% (n=417) of youth reported “frequently” or “sometimes”
• However, almost 75% of youth also reported hearing homophobic remarks in school bathrooms, in the school gym and on school buses.
• Over one-third of youth (392%, n=184) reported that no one ever intervened in these circumstances. Almost half of the youth (46.5%, n=218) reported that someone intervened only some of the time. Other students were more often reported to intervene than were faculty (82.4% reported intervention by students compared to 66.5% reported for faculty).

Harassment Youth were asked how frequently they had been verbally, physically or sexually harassed because of their sexual orientation: daily, weekly or monthly.

• The majority of youth reported experiencing some form of harassment or violence (69%, n=342).
  • 61.1% (n=300) reported experiences of verbal harassment.
  • 46.5% (n=224) reported experiences of sexual harassment (having suggestive comments made, being touched inappropriately, etc.).
  • 27.6% (n=134) reported experiences of physical harassment (being shoved, pushed, etc.).
  • 13.7% (n=68) reported experiences of physical assault (being beaten, punched, kicked, etc.).
• Of those student who reported verbal harassment, almost half said that they experienced it daily (45.9%, n=106).

4. Recommendations

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) envisions a future in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN calls upon federal, state and local governments to adequately fund K-12 public schools so that all students have access to a quality, discrimination-free education in their communities. GLSEN advocates for the following:

1. 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.

2. GLSEN affirms the right of all students in parochial and private/independent schools 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

5. About GLSEN

GLSEN is the largest national organization working to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools. Established nationally in 1995, the organization has become one of the nation's leading voices for equality and safety in America's K-12 schools. Visit www.glsen.org for more information.