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Guidance on School Law and Policy
This page was last updated on 12/28/11. If you know of errors please click here to let us know.

The Importance of Listing So-Called "Protected Classes" in Anti-Bullying Laws and Policies:
http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/EnumerationMatters.pdf (pdf format)

Dealing with Legal Matters Surrounding Students' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: (2004) from the National School Boards Association, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American School Counselor Association, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Independent Schools, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Education Association, National Student Assistance Association, School Social Work Association of America, and United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries.  http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/SchoolHealth/SelectedNSBAPublications/SexualOrientationandGenderIdentity/DealingwithLegalMattersSurroundingStudentsSexualOrientationandGenderIdentity.aspx (pdf format)


ACLU Q & A: Adding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to Discrimination and Harassment Policies in School¯: from ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union, and GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/q-adding-sexual-orientation-gender-identity-discrimination-harassment-policies- 

More from ACLU: Youth & Schools - Library: LGBT Youth & Schools: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/library

A Guide to Effective Statewide Laws/Policies: Preventing Discrimination against LGBT Students in K-12 Schools¯ from Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTS/file/201-1.pdf (pdf format)

Bullying Report: How Are Washington State Schools Doing? This report by Lauren Hafner, researcher for The Washington State PTA and The Safe Schools Coalition  examines the variety and scope of anti-bullying policies and procedures that school districts in Washington State have adopted in accordance with "The Anti-Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying [HIB] Act of 2002." http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/bullyreport/bullyreport12-03.html 

Can the Government Limit Speech to Protect a Captive Audience? A Court Rejects a High School Student's Claimed Right to Anti-Gay Speech While Legislatures React to Offensive Protests at G.I. Funerals: This article by Michael C. Dorf, on the web site FindLaw, examines legal opinion about T-shirts as a way to make anti-gay political statements at school: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dorf/20060426.html 

Defending Gay/Straight Alliances and Other Gay-Related Groups in Public Schools Under the Equal Access: (1998) from Lambda Legal.  http://www.lambdalegal.org/our-work/in-court/other/defending-gaystraight.html

Education Policy: Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: (2003) from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.  http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/EducationPolicyReport.html 

Fifteen Expensive Reasons Why Safe Schools Legislation Is In Your State's Best Interest¯: (2004) from GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, and NCLR, the National Center for Lesbian Rights. http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/15reasons.pdf?docID=1621 (pdf file)

 

Frequently Asked Questions on Safe School Policies¯: (2002) from GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, and NCLR, the National Center for Lesbian Rights. http://www.nclrights.org/publications/policiesfaq.htm

 

Gay/Straight Clubs Formed by Public School Students: Why School Officials Need to Treat Them Equally: (1996) from the ACLU, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/gaystraight-clubs-formed-public-school-students-why-school-officials-need-treat 

Harassment & Discrimination: A Legal Overview: (1999) from the National Center for Lesbian Rights. http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/ha-legaloverview.pdf?docID=1602 (pdf format)

Judge Rules In Favor Of Poway School In Anti-Gay T-Shirt Case: (January 25, 2007): http://www.10news.com/news/10844949/detail.html

Know Your Rights! A quick guide for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender high school students: This two-page handout addresses harassment, privacy, freedom of speech, gay-straight alliances, and prom. From the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/know-your-rights-quick-guide-lgbt-high-school-students

Laws Supporting Discussions and Groups: If your child is prevented from talking about gay and lesbian issues: from HRC, the Human Rights Campaign. http://www.hrc.org/issues/4962.htm 

Massachusetts Department of Secondary Education (DESE) - Guidance On Notifying Parents When A Student Has Been Bullied Based On Sexual Orientation Or Gender Identity/Expression: Implementation Of 603 CMR 49.05: http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/docs/0111/item3_guidance.pdf  (pdf format)

Overview of the Rights of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Teachers from GLAD, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders and GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTS/file/106-1.pdf (pdf format)

Prohibiting Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Harassment Against Students¯: (2001) from the National School Boards Association's Council of School Attorneys. http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/programs/hlgbsp/prohibiting-discrimination.pdf (pdf format)

Participation of Intersex Athletes in Women's Sports: This position statement from the Women's Sports Foundation is downloadable here: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/en/home/advocate/foundation-positions/lgbt-issues/intersex-athletes

Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crime A Guide for Schools from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights National Association of Attorneys General, endorsed by the National School Boards Association. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/archives/Harassment/index.html and  http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/archives/Harassment/harassment.pdf  (pdf format)

Safe Schools Research Brief: DISTRICT POLICIES AND TRAININGS: describes the findings of a 2004 study by the California Safe Schools Coalition regarding how well California public schools were doing with regard to stopping harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Go to: http://www.casafeschools.org/DistPolFACTSHEET_rev1a.pdf (pdf format)

School Laws: State by State:¯ from the Human Rights Campaign. http://www.hrc.org/issues/youth_and_campus_activism/youth_and_campus_activism_laws.asp and  http://www.hrc.org/documents/school_laws.pdf (pdf format)

Sexual Orientation Issues for Schools 101:¯ from the National School Boards Association. http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/SchoolHealth/101Packets/SO-101_1.aspx 

Speaking Out with Your T-Shirt: A quick guide for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender high school students: Legal tips about what your rights are, what you can and can't do in the way of T-shirt activism from the ACLU. http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/speaking-out-your-t-shirt

What are your rights? A Q&A form for students during the Day of Silence: At times students may face obstacles when organizing the Day of Silence. In this document created by GLSEN, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Lambda Legal you will find a set of questions and answers based on general legal principles. http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/StudentsRights_DOS_GLSEN_Lambda Legal_ACLU.pdf (pdf format)

What to Ask School Board Candidates and What They Ought to Tell You in Response:¯ (2003) from the Safe Schools Coalition.  http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/SchoolBoardCandidateAnswers.pdf (pdf format)

Who are you taking to the prom this year? (2000) from the ACLU. http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=9215&c=106  

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