A Model Program
The state of Massachusetts has led the way in making schools safe for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth and those perceived to be lesbian or gay. Efforts began in 1993 when the Board of Education of Massachusetts passed a set of recommendations advising public schools to reach out to lesbian and gay students and their families. In particular, schools were encouraged to:
Goals
- Develop policies protecting gay and lesbian students from harassment, violence, and discrimination.
- Offer training to school personnel in violence and suicide prevention.
- Offer school-based support groups for gay, lesbian, and heterosexual students.
- Provide school-based counseling for family members of gay and lesbian students.
The state backed up these recommendations by establishing an office of the Massachusetts Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students within the state Department of Education. It also made funding available to schools, districts and student groups that took up the challenge.
In response to student pressure, the state legislature also passed a law explicitly protecting students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Called the Massachusetts Students Rights Law, it declared:
"No person shall be excluded from or discriminated against in admission to a public school of any town, or in obtaining the advantages, privileges, and courses of study at such public school on account of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation."
Results
Five years after this landmark effort, Arthur Lipkin, an instructor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of Understanding Homosexuality, Changing Schools, examined the results. He found that school systems across the state had enacted the recommendations to varying degrees. But, overall, he reported: "what has been accomplished in Massachusetts is unprecedented and nearly incredible."
More specifically, he found:
- Gay-straight alliances had been formed in 140 out of 368 public secondary schools.
- More than 700 presentations and trainings had been conducted statewide.
- Approximately $800,000 in grants had been awarded to support new school programs.
