Elizabethe C. Payne and Melissa J. Smith
LGBTQ-Inclusive School Cultures: What's Policy Got to Do With It?
Posted: 09/11/2012 5:58 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabethe-c-payne/lgbtq-inclusive-school-cultures-whats-policy-got-to-do-with-it_b_1868620.htmlRecently we published a blog addressing educator reactions to the presence of transgender children in elementary schools. In that piece we posited that school districts could reduce educator anxiety about supporting and accommodating transgender students if they proactively implemented policies directly addressing the needs of transgender students. We also called for schools to critically reflect on the ways their formal and informal curriculum assumes that all people fall into binary gender categories. Our purpose for this recommendation is to identify opportunities within the curriculum to begin challenging students' (and adults') taken-for-granted beliefs about the "naturalness" of binary gender and heterosexuality. Breaking down these beliefs is key to creating schools where diverse sexual and gender identities are affirmed, not marginalized. Since then we have received a) questions about the role of policy in creating inclusive schools, and b) requests for more specific information about our vision for proactive policies and practices. Based on our research and policy work in schools, this is a response to those questions.
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It is our belief that policy should not only reflect school responsibilities as defined by local, state, and federal law but also proactively address the needs of marginalized students who have historically been underserved by education law. Research consistently confirms that LGBTQ students are particularly vulnerable in the school environment, and we recommend culturally competent policies that specifically aim to provide a framework for creating a safe and affirming environment for these students. In some states LGBTQ students are not expressly protected in anti-bullying statutes. In many states across the country, laws protecting the rights of LGBTQ people are in various states of passage and implementation (such as marriage rights and nondiscrimination protections). Additionally, lawsuits against school districts for failing to protect the rights of LGBTQ students are continuing to work through the judicial system. Schools can ill afford to wait for legal precedent to define their responsibility to this group of students, and policy that reflects best practice should be constructed so that the best interest of LGBTQ students and the children of LGBTQ families are inscribed in the policy, potentially beyond what the law in that state requires.
