Music (including general music, various bands and choirs, school musicals, and others)
School district leaders (including superintendents and school board members)
School leaders (including deans, principals, and department heads)
School employees (including teachers, substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, and staff)
Families (including parents, grandparents, and other guardians)
Appendix II: Interview with Parents of Transgender Children Leaders
Afterword by James Lecesne, Co-founder of The Trevor Project
E-journals and online newspapers
Gender identity and sexual orientation
Suggested Reading for Students
General books about LGBT+ issues: non-fiction
General books about LGBT+ issues: fiction
Families with gay and lesbian parents or other adult relatives: non-fiction
Families with gay and lesbian parents or other adult relatives: picture books
Families with gay and lesbian parents or other adult relatives: fiction
LGBT+ children and teens: non-fiction
LGBT+ children and teens: fiction
Sex and gender identity/gender nonconformity
How Big of a Problem Is This?
Too often, people fear trying to start a conversation or intervene against negativity. This is not because they do not care or because they do not see the value in improving education and knowledge; it is because they fear saying or doing the wrong thing. However, doing and saying nothing implies agreement or consent with anti-LGBT+ behaviors and policies.
What is life currently like for most LGBT+ youth? According to studies from 2017–2019:1
• LGBT+ students are twice as likely to be to be bullied, both online and on school property.
• Almost 30 percent had attempted suicide—more than four times the rate for non-LGBT+ students.
• 77 percent of LGBT+ teens report feeling depressed within the past week.
• 95 percent of LGBT+ youth report having trouble sleeping.
• 89 percent of LGBT+ youth of color report that their racial or ethnic group is regarded negatively at school.
• Only 26 percent say they always feel safe at school.
• Nearly 18 percent of LGBT+ students reported having been raped at some point in their lives—more than three times the rate of non-LGBT+ students.
• About two-thirds of LGBT+ students reported having been sexually harassed (e.g. sexual remarks made, being touched inappropriately) in school in the past year.
• LGBT+ youth are more than twice as likely to stay home from school to avoid violence they feel might befall them on the way there, or on school grounds.
• Only 5 percent say that their school’s staff are fully supportive of LGBT+ people.
Now that we see the impact of what happens when silence prevails, it is clear that speaking up is necessary to protect LGBT+ people in school settings. As for knowing what to do, this book will guide you through the process so that you will feel confident in ascertaining problematic situations and policies,