Serving LGBTQ Student1

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School

Southern New Hampshire University *

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5600

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Law

Date

Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by MinisterArtButterfly24

Serving LGBTQ Students While several individual school districts across the state of Texas have a non-discrimination policy, there is no law in Texas prohibiting discrimination against students and families in public schools based on orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. No kind of discrimination is not tolerated in Texas. Federal legal requirements use Title IX which is an education amendment which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education. The Office for Civil Rights enforces civil rights laws to protect all students from unlawful discrimination and harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age. This includes students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, asexual, intersex, nonbinary, or identify their sexual orientation or gender identity in other ways. The only requirements as parents who have children under the legal age must opt in or out for their child to learn about LGBTQ in schools. I do agree with this state and federal law because I believe every person should feel comfortable in their own skin and who are we as other individuals to tell someone how to feel. All we can do is help everyone feel accepted, the same way we would want to feel if something changed about ourselves. An emerging legal challenge LGBTQ students face is harassment. Harassment on a student who is part of the LGBTQ community is one of the most pervasive, frightening, and potentially damaging threats a student faces in schools. These types of situations must be addressed the exact same way any harassment case would be addressed in schools. Title IX (a federal education law) bars public schools for ignoring harassment based on gender stereotyping. Again, I agree with schools needing to be held accountable for actions not being taken on a harassment charge in school. Personally, no one knows what goes on at home with any child. School can possibly be the only safe space for a student, it is our job as educators to care for these students and support them because they might not have anyone else in their corner. As a teacher, my personal approach is one I have been using for the past three years. Knowing your students and respecting your students. If you do not know your students’ interests, or in this case, their pronouns, how they identify, you will not know how to make that personal connection with them. Creating a safe space means physically and emotionally. This allows the students to feel free enough to open up to you as a teacher and allows the teacher to get a better understanding of the student. Part of creating a safe space includes setting classroom expectations, meet the needs of ALL students, build a supportive classroom culture, and be supportive in general. All of this creates an environment of no bullying and no harassment. In the article I read, a student who was a part of the LGBTQ community was facing hostility at school. This child’s parents pulled them out of school and transferred this child to another school. The reason this child felt so unsafe and uncomfortable was because they expressed to their teacher what their pronouns were and explained how it would make them feel more comfortable, but the teacher refused to use their pronouns. This might sound simple and possibly silly, but to that student, they wanted to feel seen and identified for how they truly felt, and the teacher made the situation feel like a joke, making this student feel unwelcome. My job as a teacher is to make ALL my students feel safe and welcome when they come through my door. Bullying and harassing anyone in my classroom or in my line of sight, is not ok and will never be ok. General Information - LGBT Law - Guides at Texas State Law Library Resources for LGBTQI+ Students (ed.gov)

LGBTQ students face hostility, struggle with mental health, surveys say - Chalkbeat Wall, P. (2024, January 8). Why do so many LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school? . Chalkbeat. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/25/23421548/lgbtq-students-mental-health-school- safety-survey/

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Serving LGBTQ Student1

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