Safe Schools

All students deserve to feel safe, included, and protected at school.

Schools are often hostile environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. More than any other group, LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT are the repeated targets of bullying, harassment, name-calling, and even violence.

A 2009 National School Climate Survey conducted by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, found that nearly 9 in 10 LGBT students were victims of harassment within the last school year. More than 4 in 10 LGBT students reported being physically harassed because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. Three in 10 LGBT students reported missing a class – or even a whole day of school – because they felt unsafe.

It’s critical that we work to build environments of acceptance that ensure all students can be out, safe, and respected in school.

Our work began in the winter of 2010 when we called upon the Governor and 2011-2012 legislature to immediately address the problem of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. We were joined in this call by every major education organization in the state, including the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Colorado Association of School Executives, the Colorado Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers–Colorado.

A bipartisan group of Representatives and Senators answered our call, introducing a bill to reduce bullying in schools. This bill, which was signed into law in May 2011, explicitly protects LGBT students from the harassment, name-calling, and violence that they so often face in school.

This bill is an important step in creating safe schools, but a law alone won’t end the torment and isolation that LGBT young people are facing.

We know that three things actually make schools safer for LGBT young people: comprehensive anti-bullying policies that include specific protections for LGBT students; supportive, understanding teachers and school staff; and Gay Straight Alliance clubs.

Our work continues as we advocate for the passage of comprehensive, inclusive anti-bullying policies at the district-level; partner with statewide organizations to train teachers, administrators, and other school staff on how to address bullying against LGBT students; and empower and equip youth to start GSA clubs and build a statewide network of LGBT young people.

Together, we can make schools safe for LGBT students. Together, we can end the bullying, harassment, name-calling, and violence that our young people face. When their parents, their teachers, and their priests reject them, LGBT young people become our responsibility, and as adults, we must make the world better for them.