Creating Safe Schools for LGBT Students
Post submitted by whole child blogger Christine Fisher, a senior majoring in journalism at Temple University.
When parents at one North Carolina school refused to return a library book that featured a gay main character, the issue drew mixed reactions and international attention. Some parents wrote to the school to ask that their child not be given access to the book. Conversely, others wrote to ask that their son or daughter read the text. Before the controversy settled down, 32 copies of the book were donated to the school's library, from as far away as Australia.
A teacher from that North Carolina school shared this story during Peter DeWitt's "Dignity for All: Safeguarding LGBT Students" session at the recent ASCD Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pa.
DeWitt is a principal and national consultant in New York—a state seen as progressive for passing the Dignity for All Students Act, which requires that public schools safeguard all students from harassment and bullying. But Dewitt and fellow teachers know that when it comes to protecting LGBT students, there is room for improvement