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What Schools Need to Know: LGBT Students and the Law

ACLU of Michigan & GLSEN Detroit
Nov 09, 2001
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*Note: Though some of the references in the article below are specific to Michigan law, the resource explores many important federal policies and, taken as a whole, offers information useful to school personnel across the country.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

· ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

· INTRODUCTION

· PART I ­ ISSUES OF FREEDOM

· Do students have a right to form a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) student group at school?

· Do students have the right to express their points of view on GLBT issues?

· Do student GLBT groups have the right to post relevant information on a student bulletin board?

· Do students have the right to access GLBT information that is in the school library?

· May parents elect to remove their student from sex education curricula containing GLBT relevant material?

· May parents elect to remove their student from general curricula containing GLBT relevant and
non-sexual material?

· Do students have the right to raise GLBT issues relevant to the classroom discussion?

· May a GLBT student take a same-gender date to a prom or other school functions?

· PART II ­ ISSUES OF EQUALITY AND SAFETY

· Does the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment offer GLBT students protection from harassment?

· How does the law define sexual discrimination and sexual harassment?

· What kind of conduct is considered to be sexual harassment?

· Can a school be liable for peer sexual harassment of GLBT students occurring at school?

· Do school personnel have an obligation to report the abuse or neglect of a GLBT student occurring at home?

· Are schools required to have a sexual harassment policy?

· PART III ­ SUGGESTIONS FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL

· SOURCES

· MODEL STUDENT ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY

· MODEL HARASSMENT INCIDENT REPORT FORM

· EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

· ASSESSING YOUR SCHOOL CLIMATE

· RESOURCES To view "What Schools Need to Know" in its entirety, click on "DOWNLOAD PDF" above.

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