Gay-Straight Alliances

Gay-Straight Alliances, or GSAs, are student-led and often staff-supervised school clubs that focus on creating a safe and accepting school environment for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. GSAs provide a supportive environment for:

• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students

• Students who are perceived by others to be LGBT

• Students who are questioning their identity

• Students who have LGBT friends or family members

• Students who just care about LGBT issues

Notes from the ACLU:

While school administrators sometimes balk at allowing students to start GSAs, federal law guarantees that students at public high schools have the right to do so. Under the law, there are two types of clubs in public high schools: curricular clubs (those that relate directly to things that are taught in the school, like the Math Club), and non-curricular clubs (those that don't relate directly to things that are taught in the school, such as the Key Club or Chess Club). The federal Equal Access Act says that if a public high school allows students to form any non-curricular clubs at all, then it must allow students to form any non-curricular club they want — and it also has to treat all non-curricular clubs equally.

The research suggests that students (not just those students identifying as LGBT) from schools with GSAs when compared to students attending schools without GSAs are:

• Less likely to report feeling unsafe at school

• Reported a greater number of friends and supportive relationships

• Felt more connected to their school and school community

For those of you who will practice in Illinois, check out the resources provided by the Illinois-Safe-Schools organization. link: www.illinoissafeschools.org

Here’s a local story and video of how Berwyn, IL (yep…Berwyn) is trying to promote a safe and inclusive school climate for LGBTQ youth!

Link: http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Berwyn-school-district-offering-pro-trans-policies-outreach/53519.html (news brief)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSr300zUWUk (video)

Illinois has a Safe Schools Alliance now. You will find a number of resources related to best practice for Illinois schools. Those of you in other states might look to see what your states are doing.

https://www.ilsafeschools.org/transgender-advocacy/

Consider the OT’s role in serving as the GSA staff sponsor.

Safe Zones Program

A safe zone or a safe space is a designated place where all people are invited to feel safe, welcome and included. Safe zones or spaces may be a room in the school or the entire building. The Safe Zone program aims to increase the awareness, knowledge, and skills for individuals and address the challenges that exist when one wants to advocate for their LGBTQ peers, family members, friends, coworkers and for themselves. Creating safe zones or safe spaces is a proactive step that schools, agencies and corporations can take to create welcoming, inclusive spaces so that all people are empowered to reach their full potential.

You may have seen the Safe Zone symbol or a variation of it before:

Check out this site for SafeZone training link: http://thesafezoneproject.com/what-are-safe-zones/

Think about how you might modify some of the activities or materials for younger students.

Making your office or your workspace a SafeZone area (by hanging a SafeZone poster or displaying a SafeZone sticker) is one way to show that you are a supportive school staff member. The findings from the GLSEN survey suggest strong outcomes for students who could identify 11 or more supportive staff members in their school.

Comprehensive Bullying and Harassment Policies

Only about 10% of students noted that their school bullying policy explicitly included protection for both sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

Dress Code Policies

Schools may often emphasize adherence to traditional gender norms through dress codes which may be stigmatizing for some students . To be inclusive, schools should examine their policies and practices to ensure that they are not discriminatory towards students who are gender nonconforming. Additionally, safe school advocates should ensure that their efforts to improve school climate for LGBT students explicitly address issues of gender expression and gender nonconformity, in addition to those of sexual orientation. Addressing policies associated with activities like school dances and sports also increase inclusivity.

Consider the OT practitioner’s role in advocating to change certain school policies so that they are more comprehensive or inclusive.

Retrieved from: TOT 1: Celebrating Student Diversity: Understanding the Needs of LBGTQ Students (2019)

General Discussion Post:

After reviewing the GLSEN website and resource, post some of your ideas. Talk about some of the outcomes of this study and the potential role for OT practitioners to address some of the identified needs.

After reviewing the resources from the GLSEN website (https://www.glsen.org/article/2017-national-school-climate-survey-1) and the video provided, I found that the message being sent is a great message. The GLSEN program has done a phenomenal job, based on their charts and statistics, of lowering the violence and abuse of the LBGTQ community. They have started the conversation about the differences in sexual orientations and they have targeted audiences that are malleable and willing to listen. I personally think one of the biggest issues within the community and their integration into society is the lack of education on the topic. GLSEN has worked tirelessly to improve the education being placed out into society and promote good for this community. They are working hard to encourage love and kindness. Their decrease in verbal and physical harassment, as well as their decrease in physical assault between 2001 and 2017 is astonishing. They have opened the door for so many young American’s to share their stories and their experiences as a young LBGTQ member. They have made some improvements, but they have not done enough. One of the greatest accomplishments for me is that they have significantly increased their resources within the schools. Since 2001, GLSEN has increased their school resources by 40% and it is still on the rise. The LBGTQ community has significantly increased throughout my lifetime and it is only getting stronger due to programs such as this one.

As an OT, I think my responsibility is to help keep the conversation going and to help educate not only the students in the LBGTQ community, but also the students who are not. Education is the key to promoting equality throughout a generation. In my lifetime, the more I have learned about different communities and different cultures, the more I have grown to accept and integrate myself and accept the differences people bring to the table. I had the opportunity to study abroad in Rome, Italy, where I learned more about Italian culture and the way they see life. I had never been outside of the U.S.A prior to studying abroad and it was an eye-opening experience. I not only got to see Italian culture, but French, and Spanish, English, and so many others, that all are unique, but all are good! This is also true for the LBGTQ community. The more I have learned, the more I have grown to accept and cherish and understand the differences they bring to the table. My role as an OT is to help explore those differences and to help educate the youth of America to see them as well. By continuing the conversation and integrating the information into normal society, it makes for a smooth transition into everyday life. My role as an OT in the schools is also to help those who are in the LBGTQ community find their voice and help themselves survive in a world where bigotry is still, unfortunately, an issue. My role and position as an OT in the schools is such an important one, because someone’s sexual orientation, especially as a student gets older, does become a part of their everyday life. The more the children grow and learn, the more they can teach others and spread the love and kindness throughout their friend groups and beyond. I hope to be someone who can contribute to the movement and help GLSEN continue their message by using my roles as an OT in the schools to promote good and education to all.