Creating Safe & Inclusive Schools for LGBTQ+ Students
As school-based clinicians, we play a critical role in creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students. This includes:
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providing education and training for school staff
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working with parents
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developing programming and providing services for students.
This page provides resources and guidelines for making schools safer and more welcoming for LGBTQ+ students.
1
Creating Inclusive Schools
A few easy strategies all school staff can implement are
1. Replace gendered language like boys and girls with inclusive language like students or children.
2. Rely less on gender to organize
children. Ie. instead of splitting up into boys & girls split up by those who like cats vs dogs. 3. Make sure classroom libraries feature diverse characters including LGBTQ+ representation. 4. School staff is provided professional development to support their understanding of LGBTQ+ youth. 5. Use of safe space stickers and flags to indicate that a teacher or school counselor is an ally. 6. Create campaigns that raise awareness (e.g. Day of Silence) and celebrate LGBTQ+ individuals in history.
2
Guiding Parents
Parents of LGBTQ+ children may need support to understand their children. Parents may benefit from:
1. Being linked to groups like PFLAG
2. Counseling & education to adequately process their own feelings, and to support their child's needs around gender identity.
3. Guidance on advocating for their child's rights in schools.
3
Supporting Students
Providing programming that supports LGBTQ+ youth aids connection to school and mitigates mental health risk factors.
Recommendations include:
1. Clubs like the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) that create spaces
LGBTQ+ students to find belonging and make friends. 2. Affirming clinical practices such as, inclusive intakes and assessments and educating yourself on best practices for working with LGBTQ+ youth. 3. Demonstrate allyship by using a student's pronouns and chosen name and correcting students and staff when they make homophobic & transphobic comments.
Many teachers and administrators are anxious to adopt policies that support trans and gender diverse students due to the current political climate.
In this video (1m 35s) Dr. Mangin discusses her research findings that suggest despite the polarizing rhetoric in the media most parents and community members are supportive trans and gender diverse students.
Research Findings
Additional Resources
For additional information on creating safe and inclusive schools:
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Learning for For Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance)
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The Human Rights Campaign- Welcoming Schools
For additional information on gender identity:
Suicide & crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth