Library: LGBT Youth & Schools
There's a ton of information about schools issues for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth both on the ACLU's website and elsewhere on the web, but sometimes it can be difficult to find your way to the resources you need online. We've gathered some of the best information we have plus great stuff from other organizations and websites here to help you find things that can help you learn more about your rights and what you can do to make your school a safer, more welcoming place.
General Resources Information from the ACLU
Elsewhere on the Web
Equal Access Act/Gay-Straight Alliances Information from the ACLU
Related ACLU Cases
Elsewhere on the Web
Harassment Information from the ACLU
Related ACLU Cases
Elsewhere on the Web
Free Speech/Free Expression/Prom Information from the ACLU
Related ACLU Cases
Elsewhere on the Web
Privacy Information from the ACLU
Related ACLU Cases
Equal Protection Related ACLU Cases
Elsewhere on the Web
Transgender Student Resources Elsewhere on the Web
A brief overview of the legal problems that LGBT youth encounter in their schools most often. A printable PDF version is available here
A national organization devoted to schools issues. Be sure to check out the index of all their research and studies and their Jump-Start Guide for Gay Straight Alliances.
With information on "ex-gay" ministries, homelessness among LGBT youth, school safety, and a variety of other issues.
A national organization that works to support LGBT youth through regional organizing and grassroots activism; sponsors regional conferences to train young activists and provide information and support.
A searchable directory to help you find support groups, clubs, and other youth programs in your area.
This guide was written by the National Education Association to help educators dealing with issues involving LGBT students or colleagues; it has information that may be helpful to students or parents, or you might print a copy of it out and share it with teachers and administrators.
A website by and for LGBT young people, with lots of information on sexual health and other issues subdivided into easy-to-search categories.
A booklet for educators to help them respond to a recent upsurge in promotion of efforts to change sexual orientation through therapy and religious ministries. This upsurge has been coupled with a demand that these perspectives on homosexuality be given equal time in schools. This booklet debunks the myths of the so-called “Ex-Gay” movement and helps school officials make educated, informed decisions when dealing with sexual orientation issues in their schools.
General steps to take in starting a GSA at your school.
An open letter to school administrators about why they must allow students to form GSA's. You can print this out and give a copy to your school when you turn in your application to start your club.
A letter to principals and educators explaining the Day of Silence, ways to support students who are participating and obligations schools have to protect students' safety and freedom of speech.
Detailed information from the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights about what the law says about GSA's.
A how-to guide on starting a GSA at your school.
Our successful defense of a GSA in Cleveland Georgia.
Our successful defense of a GSA in Boyd County, Kentucky.
A national organization devoted to schools issues. Be sure to check out the index of all their research and studies and their Jump-Start Guide for Gay Straight Alliances.
A site from GLSEN where you can network with other GSA clubs around the country, sign up to participate in National Day of Silence, and get support for the day-to-day workings of your GSA.
A California-based organization that exists to support GSA's. The "resources" section of their site has lots of ideas for stuff your GSA can do once the club is established, and there's other good information to be found throughout their site.
Additional information from National Center for Lesbian Rights about what the law says about GSA's.
An article written for teachers by teachers from Education World magazine, explaining why GSA's should be allowed at schools. You can print this out and give a copy to your school when you turn in your application to start your club.
A good basic history and explanation of the law that protects your right to form a GSA.
Summarizes the details of the law and includes a link to the full text of the law.
An overview of the nearly four million dollars' worth of successful harassment lawsuits brought by LGBT students against the schools that did nothing to help them. A printable PDF version is available here.
Some opponents of safe schools policies argue that anti-harassment policies restrict students' free speech. This piece explains how it's possible to adopt policies that adequately address harassment and protect free speech.
If your school is considering adding anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies to protect LGBT students, they should consider using the wording in this model policy created by ACLU attorneys to make schools safer while balancing free speech concerns.
This model training workshop for teachers and administrators is designed for ACLU affiliate offices and other organizations that want to put on trainings to help school districts to combat harassment early-before they wind up facing litigation. The manual contains step-by-step guidance on pulling the program together, including sample agendas, pointers on locating the right people to participate, letters, talking points, and all the additional materials you will need to conduct a successful workshop.
An open letter to school administrators about why they should implement anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies. You can print this out and give a copy to your school when trying to convince them to add these types of policies.
A few ideas about things schools, students, and parents can do to reduce harassment.
Our successful defense of a GSA in Kentucky; part of our case was about harassment suffered by LGBT students at Boyd County High School.
Our successful case against a school district in California where school district employees repeatedly ignored or minimized many reports by the students that they were being abused by others who thought they were gay.
Our successful case against a school district in California where lesbian and gay students were routinely harassed and some were even forced into a special program for students with behavioral problems.
A national organization devoted to schools issues. Be sure to check out the index of all their research and studies and their Jump-Start Guide for Gay Straight Alliances.
The most recent national survey from GLSEN about attitudes towards LGBT students in our nation's schools, the prevalence of harassment and bullying towards LGBT students, and school safety.
A report from GLSEN that report summarizes state laws that affect school environments and school safety for all students, particularly LGBT students.
A website from the Southern Povery Law Center with lots of information and resources on how to reduce bigotry and bias and foster communities that value diversity.
Facts and statistics from Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) about the harmful effects of anti-gay bullying and harassment in schools.
Focused on the state of California, but many of this organization's resources could be useful in other states, especially the information at its Tools section.
An organizing guide from GSA Network (link: http://gsanetwork.org) for California students who want to use the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 to reduce harassment in their schools.
A coalition of organizations based in Washington state that serves schools, students, and parents throughout the U.S., with extra focus on Washington. Their site features training materials, information, and an extensive links section.
T-shirts are a common way for students to express their views, and schools often try to censor this form of speech, especially when it's about LGBT people. If you're thinking about wearing an LGBT-positive t-shirt to school and you expect trouble, here's what you should know and what to expect.
A letter to principals and educators explaining the legal requirement that schools allow students to wear clothing or accessories with slogans or symbols that express support for LGBT people.
Every year, the ACLU receives calls from students whose schools have told them that they cannot bring a same-sex date to the Prom or that they must wear Prom clothing that conforms to traditional gender norms. In response, the ACLU's LGBT Project has developed letters to principals and superintendents that students can use to advocate for their rights at Prom.
Information on a 1980 case in which a federal court ruled that Aaron Fricke, a student from Rhode Island, had the right to bring a same-sex date to his prom as a matter of his right to free expression. This decision has since been used throughout the nation to guarantee students' right to bring same-sex dates to public school proms and dances.
The actual decision in Aaron Fricke's case.
Not all of our school work goes to court - in this case, an Ohio high school backed down after the ACLU demanded it stop censoring students' t-shirts about gay rights.
Our successful case against an Arkansas school that punished a 14-year-old for talking about being gay at school.
Our successful lawsuit against a Missouri school that twice punished a student for wearing t-shirts expressing her support for gay rights.
Our case against a high school that repeatedly singled out a lesbian student for discipline for showing affection towards her girlfriend, even though heterosexual students are routinely allowed to hold hands, hug, and kiss on campus. Part of this case is about the student's right to be "out" at school as a matter of free speech.
Our successful case under California state law against a school district that censored a series of articles in the school newspaper about LGBT students.
Research coverage of key First Amendment issues and topics, daily First Amendment news, a unique First Amendment Library and guest analyses by respected legal specialists from the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.
Lambda Legal's successful lawsuit against a Nevada school that refused to protect a student from harassment and instead told him to "stop acting like a fag" and that he shouldn't be open about being gay at school.
Summarizes the details of the amendment and includes the full text of the amendment.
A brief from one of our cases (see below) that covers some of the key legal issues regarding LGBT students' right to privacy at school.
Our case against a high school that repeatedly singled out a lesbian student for discipline for showing affection towards her girlfriend, even though heterosexual students are routinely allowed to hold hands, hug, and kiss on campus. One of the things the school did to the student was reveal her sexual orientation to her family without her permission.
Our successful case against an Arkansas school that revealed a 14-year-old gay student's sexual orientation to his parents without his permission.
ACLU of Pennsylvania's successful case against a town where two police officers threatened to tell a teenager's family he was gay against his will. The young man then committed suicide. A court ruled that the government can't reveal a minor's sexual orientation without permission.
Our case against a high school that revealed a lesbian student's sexual orientation to her family without her permission for showing affection towards her girlfriend, even though heterosexual students are routinely allowed to hold hands, hug, and kiss on campus.
Detailed explanation of the history of equal protection in the U.S. from a publication by the Bureau of International Information Programs at the U.S. Department of State.
This is a toolkit and training program produced by our friends at the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Transgender Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights that offers a wealth of information designed to assist you in creating a safe space at your school for transgender and gender nonconforming students.
This program from GenderPAC offers tips, research, policy developments, and best practices to assist in making homes, classrooms and communities safe for children to express themselves authentically.
An organization that hosts conferences and other means of support for transgender children and their families.
An organization that provides education, resources and training to help schools, health care providers, and family service agencies create a more gender sensitive and supportive environment for all children including gender variant and transgender youth.
A resource for parents who want information and advice on a child with gender-variant behaviors from the Outreach Program for Children with Gender-Variant Behaviors and their Families at Children's National Medical Center, which also provides an email support/discussion list, articles, and other resources.
A UK support group for transgender children and teenagers which offers a variety of information, especially its the "Helpful Hints and Shared Experiences" page.
This guide from the Transgender Law Center provides information to transgender people, activists, and allies about creating bathroom safety, including tips on how to address harassment, ideas for getting good bathroom policies passed, and an outline for doing a bathroom safety campaign.
A chapter of PFLAG focused specifically on promoting the health and well-being of transgender persons, their families and friends. Includes several resources, such as PFLAG's Top 10 Tips for Parents of Children Expressing Gender Variance.
Model outline and tools for conducting a Transgender Student Safety workshop for students, teachers, administrators, and other school site staff from the Transgender Law Center.
A documentary video and collaboration between transgender videomaker Tara Mateik and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a New York City organization dedicated to ending poverty and gender identity discrimination, addressing the persistent discrimination, harassment, and violence that people who transgress gender norms face in gender segregated bathrooms. There's also a detailed a toolkit full of useful facts and talking points about trans equality and bathroom access to accompany the film.
Four email discussion/support groups, including one specifically for parents of trans kids and one for couples.
A collection of recommendations for educators from the Transgender Law Center.
A coalition of parents, friends and caring adults dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the medical and cultural challenges faced by children with gender variant and gender questioning identities and the families who love them.