Advocating for LGBTQ Students With Disabilities - A New Guide

From the Human Rights Campaign, The National Association of School Psychologists, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the National Education Association, comes this "Advocating for LGBTQ Students with Disabilities" guide.

As quoted in a press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, 

“It is critical that school administrators and educators have the tools to address the needs of all LGBTQ students, including LGBTQ students with disabilities,” said Asaf Orr, Director of the Transgender Youth Project at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and co-author of the publication. “This resource will ensure that schools know how to comply with their legal obligations to LGBTQ students with disabilities by providing a roadmap for creating IEPs and 504 Plans that meet their unique learning needs.”

The Guide for Educators and Parents/Guardians on Supporting LGBTQ Students With an IEP or 504 Plan is seven pages, and also includes the voices of a few students:

“It was so helpful when the school counselor met with me and the teacher who sponsors the school GSA. I was able to tell them about how I didn’t feel safe using the girls’ bathroom. I had been so scared to tell anyone else about it before. They talked about how this could be addressed through my IEP so I could start using the boys’ bathrooms since that’s how I identify.” – Transgender student with disabilities

Happy to amplify, and acknowledge the intersectionality of many within our Queer and Disabled communities.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

The Red Pen - an Underground High School Paper that covered GLBTQ issues after they were censored by the school, wins Courage in Student Journalism Award

“We would like to express our sincerest thanks to our Principal and assistant principals,” Elsie Blake, the editor of her school’s newspaper The Crier, said in a brief address. “Their continual suppression of our writings about issues such as gay rights, sexual misconduct, and bullying have taught us what journalism will be like in the real world, thus preparing us for what is to come.”  - from an article on page three of The Red Pen, an underground high school student newspaper

This story is awesome!

The annual Courage in Student Journalism Award was given to students of duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Ky. and to James Yoakley, former yearbook and newspaper advisor at Lenoir City High School in Tennessee, for their valor in overcoming administrative censorship.
The Kentucky students formed The Red Pen newspaper after facing continuous restrictions from their principal and administration against publishing controversial stories in the school-sanctioned publication, including stories about atheism and LGBT people. Similarly, Yoakley was reassigned to teach 7th grade English after defending a student for publishing an article about his personal experience of coming out as gay.

More about the award going to the students (from the Student Press Law Center):

The Red Pen was the brainstorm of student staffers at duPont Manual’s official student publication, The Redeye, who became frustrated with edicts from their principal to refrain from mentioning topics that might cause controversy, including homosexuality. The students even were forbidden from publishing a news story about the arrest and firing of a teacher whose removal was already well-publicized in the local media.
The students – Zoe Schaver, Patrick Hartel, Emily McConville, Kelsey McKim, Dakota Sherek and Virginia Johnson – used their own off-campus time to build a website, www.theredpen.org, and raised the money to distribute a print version."


You can go to The Red Pen to download a copy and read the students' underground newspaper yourself.

I love their exposing the history of censorship at their school (including the Principal ordering a two-page spread on gay students at the school cut out of every issue of the 2009-2010 yearbook.)  And this section from their editorial statement on page 2 was inspiring:

Whereas, in the interest of democracy and honest expression, responsible students ought to have a voice unrestricted by external control,
Whereas this voice must be protected, expanded and well-communicated,
Whereas systems of prior review and administrative regulation of student press do unjustifiably restrict this voice,
Whereas we, students of Kentucky, wish to create an organization which supports all true journalistic endeavors,
Whereas good journalism can and will lead to a more just and open society,
We hereby establish, as an extension of the free student press of Kentucky,
The Red Pen.

Congratulations to the students, and to us all - I'm glad they'll be the journalists of tomorrow!

Namaste,
Lee

Thanks to my husband for the heads-up on these students winning this award for their courage!

GSA Monday Topic: Harvard's BGLTSA becomes the Harvard QSA: Trading in "Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender" for "Queer"

Harvard's QSA Website Banner

Recent news:

Harvard's Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters Alliance voted unanimously to change the organization’s name to the Harvard College Queer Students and Allies.

Check out the full article here.
What would be the reaction if YOUR GSA became the QSA? If all the Gay Straight Alliance Clubs became the Queer Straight Alliance Clubs?

Would it help, or would it make things more difficult?

What do you think?

GSA Monday Topic: Should a non-girly Girl be allowed to wear a TUXEDO to prom? A Lesbian in Indiana SUES her school for that right

So this 17 year old girl, a lesbian, was told by her school that she couldn't wear a tuxedo to her prom, and that if she wanted to attend, she'd have to wear a dress.

She told them she's a lesbian and that she

does not wear dresses because she thinks they express a sexual identity that she does not embrace

Her ACLU lawyer says

"From a First Amendment standpoint, wearing a tuxedo makes an affirmative statement about her own sexuality," Falk said. "Students have free-speech rights."

The school says

her only option for the prom was to wear a dress and that only boys could wear tuxedos

The prom at her school is April 25.

Here's the link to the full article: Girl sues Lebanon Schools for right to wear tuxedo to prom


I'll try to find out what happens and let you all know -

For now, it's a great point of discussion.

Should she be allowed to wear a tux to prom? What do you think?