Resources for Educators

Resources for Educators

National

Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

(520) 743-4800

GLSEN is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community.

Welcoming Schools

Welcoming Schools is an LGBT-inclusive approach to addressing family diversity, gender stereotyping and bullying and name-calling in K-5 learning environments. Welcoming Schools provides administrators, educators and parents/guardians with the resources necessary to create learning environments in which all learners are welcomed and respected.

California Safe Schools Coalition

The California Safe Schools Coalition is a statewide partnership of organizations and individuals dedicated to eliminating discrimination and harassment on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity in California schools.

Gay-Straight Alliance Network

Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a youth leadership organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training. GSA Network supports young people in starting, strengthening, and sustaining GSAs and builds the capacity of GSAs to (a) create safe environments in schools for students to support each other and learn about homophobia and other oppressions, (b) educate the school community about homophobia, gender identity, and sexual orientation issues, and (c) fight discrimination, harassment, and violence in schools.

Tucson

WINGSPAN: Southern Arizona’s GLBT Community Center

(520) 624-1779

Wingspan is the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Community Center for Southern Arizona. Wingspan's mission is to promote the freedom, equality, safety and well-being of LGBT people. Community Space includes a free lending library, computer center, and meeting rooms. Wingspan offers an array of social and community services including (but not limited to):

Anti-Violence Project (AVP)

24-Hour Crisis Lines: 624-0348 or (800) 553-9387

The Wingspan AVP's Crisis Line is available 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week, 365 days-a-year. Staff and trained volunteers offer emotional and practical support to victim/survivors of violence. Support is available in both English and Spanish. All calls are confidential, and callers may remain anonymous.

EON

(520) 624-1779, ext 127

Eon works to strengthen the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and straight ally youth community by creating social opportunities, providing information and support on health issues, advocating for youth rights, and challenging society's perceptions of youth. Events and activities are free of charge and open to all youth ages 23 and under. Join the EON Youth Lounge on Facebook.

Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA)

(520)624-1779, ext120

Southern Arizona Gender Alliance offers information, support services and social opportunities for transgender people while educating businesses and health and human services providers about transgender issues.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

(520) 360-3795

PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through support, education, and advocacy. PFLAG provides opportunity to dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identities, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. Phone line is confidential.

UA’s LGBTQ Affairs

deanofstudents.arizona.edu/LGBTQaffairs

626-1996

The Office of LGBTQ Affairs works to build, sustain and strengthen a safe, inclusive, and open environment for faculty, staff, appointed professionals, students, and alumni of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Runs the Safe Zone Training Program to share the experiences of LGBTQ people, and prepare members of the campus to be effective allies. Has a listserv and newsletter to announce news and events.

Suggestions of Books and Videos

For Teachers & Schools:

It’s Elementary: Talking about Gay Issues in School, Video Produced by Debra Chasnoff & Helen Cohen, New Day Films (2007)

Sexual Orientation & School Policy: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Administrators, and Community Activists, by Ian K. Macgillivray, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (2003)

Open Lives, Safe Schools: Addressing Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education, Donovan R. Walling (Ed.), Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, (1996)

One Teacher in 10: Gay and Lesbian Educators Tell Their Stories, by Kevin Jennings, Alyson Publications, (1994)

For Kids:

In Our Mothers’ House, by Patricia Polacco, Philomel (2009)

My Two Uncles, by Judith Vigna, Albert Whitman & Company (1995)

Heather Has Two Mommies, by Lesléa Newman, Alyson Books (2000)

The Sissy Duckling, by Harvey Fierstein, Aladdin (2005)

For Teenagers:

Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (2011)

Scenarios Activity: What will you do?

1. A lesbian student teacher seeks your advice about what to say to her students who keep asking her if she has a boyfriend or a girlfriend. What do you say?

1. A student teacher comes to you to seek your advice, because they have a student in their class with same sex parents. What do you say?

1. A student teacher shares with you that many kids in his class use the phrase “that’s so gay” to describe everything from crayon colors to a math problem. He is uncomfortable with this and wants to say something, but is not sure how to address it. What do you say?

1. A student teacher shares with you that a boy in her class is repeatedly picked on by other boys and is often called “girlie,” “gay,” or even a “fag.” She is uncomfortable with this and wants to say something, but is not sure how to address it. What do you say?

1. A student teacher in a middle school wanted to be involved in a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) in his school, but learned they do not have one. He comes to you because he would like to start a GSA. What do you say?

ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION
Key Policy Letters from the Education Secretary and Deputy Secretary[1]

June 14, 2011

Dear Colleagues:

Harassment and bullying are serious problems in our schools, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are the targets of disproportionate shares of these problems. Thirty-two percent of students aged 12-18 experienced verbal or physical bullying during the 2007-2008 school year;1and, according to a recent survey, more than 90 percent of LGBT students in grades 6 through 12 reported being verbally harassed — and almost half reported being physically harassed — during the 2008-2009 school year.2 High levels of harassment and bullying correlate with poorer educational outcomes, lower future aspirations, frequent school absenteeism, and lower grade-point averages.3Recent tragedies involving LGBT students and students perceived to be LGBT only underscore the need for safer schools.

Gay-straight alliances (GSAs) and similar student-initiated groups addressing LGBT issues can play an important role in promoting safer schools and creating more welcoming learning environments. Nationwide, students are forming these groups in part to combat bullying and harassment of LGBT students and to promote understanding and respect in the school community. Although the efforts of these groups focus primarily on the needs of LGBT students, students who have LGBT family members and friends, and students who are perceived to be LGBT, messages of respect, tolerance, and inclusion benefit all our students. By encouraging dialogue and providing supportive resources, these groups can help make schools safe and affirming environments for everyone.

But in spite of the positive effect these groups can have in schools, some such groups have been unlawfully excluded from school grounds, prevented from forming, or denied access to school resources. These same barriers have sometimes been used to target religious and other student groups, leading Congress to pass the Equal Access Act.

In 1984, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Equal Access Act, requiring public secondary schools to provide equal access for extracurricular clubs. Rooted in principles of equal treatment and freedom of expression, the Act protects student-initiated groups of all types. As one of my predecessors, Secretary Richard W. Riley, pointed out in guidance concerning the Equal Access Act and religious clubs more than a decade ago, we “protect our own freedoms by respecting the freedom of others who differ from us.”4By allowing students to discuss difficult issues openly and honestly, in a civil manner, our schools become forums for combating ignorance, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination.

The Act requires public secondary schools to treat all student-initiated groups equally, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject matters discussed at their meetings. Its protections apply to groups that address issues relating to LGBT students and matters involving sexual orientation and gender identity, just as they apply to religious and other student groups.

Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s General Counsel, Charles P. Rose, is issuing a set of legal guidelines affirming the principles that prevent unlawful discrimination against any student-initiated groups. We intend for these guidelines to provide schools with the information and resources they need to help ensure that all students, including LGBT and gender nonconforming students, have a safe place to learn, meet, share experiences, and discuss matters that are important to them.

Although specific implementation of the Equal Access Act depends upon contextual circumstances, these guidelines reflect basic obligations imposed on public school officials by the Act and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The general rule, approved by the U.S. Supreme Court, is that a public high school that allows at least one noncurricular student group to meet on school grounds during noninstructional time (e.g., lunch, recess, or before or after school) may not deny similar access to other noncurricular student groups, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject matters that the groups address.

I encourage every school district to make sure that its administrators, faculty members, staff, students, and parents are familiar with these principles in order to protect the rights of all students — regardless of religion, political or philosophical views, sexual orientation, or gender identity. I also urge school districts to use the guidelines to develop or improve district policies. In doing so, school officials may find it helpful to explain to the school community that the Equal Access Act requires public schools to afford equal treatment to all noncurricular student organizations, including GSAs and other groups that focus on issues related to LGBT students, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Officials need not endorse any particular student organization, but federal law requires that they afford all student groups the same opportunities to form, to convene on school grounds, and to have access to the same resources available to other student groups.

The process of revising or developing an equal-access policy offers an opportunity for school officials to engage their community in an open dialogue on the equal treatment of all noncurricular student organizations. It is important to remember, therefore, that the Equal Access Act’s requirements are a bare legal minimum. I invite and encourage you to go beyond what the law requires in order to increase students’ sense of belonging in the school and to help students, teachers, and parents recognize the core values behind our principles of free speech. As noted in our October 2010 Dear Colleague Letter and December 2010 guidance regarding anti-bullying policies, I applaud such policies as positive steps toward ensuring equal access to education for all students.

Thank you for your work on behalf of our nation’s children.

Sincerely,

Arne Duncan

1Dinkes, R., Kemp, J., and Baum, K. (2010). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010. (NCES 2010-012/NCJ 228478). 42 National Center for Education Statistics: Washington, DC.

2Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Diaz, E. M., and Bartkiewicz, M. J. (2010). The 2009 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in our nation’s schools, 26, New York: GLSEN.

3GLSEN, at 46-8.

4U.S. Department of Education, “Secretary’s Guidelines on Religious Expression in Public Schools,” August 1995,

For More Information Please Contact:

Jennifer Hoefle

Program Director for LGBTQ Affairs

Student Union, Room 404

PO BOX 210017

Tucson, AZ 85721

(520) 626-1996

deanofstudents.arizona.edu/LGBTQaffairs

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[1]From the U.S Department of Education, downloaded on 8/5/11 from: