From a Boy Named Issak by Issak Wolfe:

“The school has agreed to let me wear the boys’ cap and gown, but won’t budge on anything else. They refuse to promise to do anything to help other kids like me, as if pretending I’m the only transgender student they’ll ever have at their school will make it so. They refuse to apologize to me, even though they know the principal’s actions were mean-spirited and hurtful.

And they insist on reading my female name at graduation, even though I’m working on getting my name legally changed and most people have been calling me Issak for almost two years now.

Reading my male name at graduation wouldn’t hurt anyone, but they KNOW that reading my female name only serves to hurt me more. [my emphasis]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A transgender student at a Catholic high school in Albuquerque, N.M., says he is has been told he must wear female student gown at his graduation procession, or not walk at all.

Damian Garcia is a senior at St. Pius X High School, where at the graduation ceremony, the girls wear white gowns and the boys wear black.

Damian, who identifies as male and had a legal name change last year, said he’s been told by the school that he must wear the white gown reserved for females, or not participate in the ceremony.

The St. Pius Superintendent told KRQE-TV that that the school goes by what the student’s birth certificate says if there’s any question on what gender-color they wear at graduation.

“I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends,” said Damian. “I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.”

Watch a report from KRQE-TV:

Damian’s father calls the school’s decision heartbreaking.

“All you want in life is to see your kids happy and healthy. You never want to see them suffer or being ridiculed or be made fun of,” he said.

A petition at MoveOn.org is calling on the school to allow Damian to walk for graduation in the male cap and gown. There is also a Facebook page, “Let Damian Walk.”

“Gay” (by Theo Chen)

A very perceptive and articulate young man speaks about bullying at school because he is perceived to be gay.

TW: slurs, bullying

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HOUSTON — A transgender high school senior in Houston, Texas, has won a fight to wear a dress to the senior prom.

Spring Independent School District said that Tony Zamazal, a transgender student at Spring High School, may wear a dress, pump-style shoes, makeup and a wig to the school prom on May 11, reported KTRK-TV.

Tony Zamazal

The American Civil Liberties Union says a school administrator previously told Zamazal that wearing a dress would be “unacceptable” attire, as rules state only female students can wear dresses and males must wear tuxedos.

At one point, according to the ACLU, Zamazal was told by the principal she would have to consult the school board because it would be a “community decision.”

“All I wanted was to get to wear a dress to prom, because I wouldn’t have felt comfortable at all showing up in a tux,” the 19-year-old senior said, in a prepared statement. “I’m so grateful that my school has agreed to let me be myself on such an important night.”

The ACLU sent a letter to the principal on March 18, explaining that federal law and the U.S. Constitution protect Zamazal’s right to wear a dress to prom.

The school district responded last week and affirmed that it will allow Zamazal to attend the prom in the formal clothing of her choice.

“Tony has the right under both federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution to express her gender identity,” said Adriana Pinon, ACLU of Texas Senior Staff Attorney. “Students’ legal rights aren’t something that public schools get to put up to a vote. We’re happy to see the school do the right thing.”

Evan Wiens, 16, of Steinbach, Man., Says He’ll Do What It Takes to Ensure Gay and Lesbian Students at His High School Are Supported, Even Though He May Not Have the Support of Everyone in His Community. (by tvnportal)

A school I once attended. At that time, they did not allow school dances as dancing was the ‘devils work.’ But, the school has now decided to allow Evan to put up posters for his GSA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/03/evan-wiens-gay-straight-alliance-manitoba-school_n_3009344.html

Go Evan!

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This was never meant to become a battle, and Evan Wiens didn’t expect to find himself in the thick of it. Instead, it all began as routine: Manitoba’s government, spurred by the high-profile suicide of B.C. teen Amanda Todd, tabled a bill that would beef up its bullying laws.

Worded as a largely boilerplate protection of “a safe and inclusive learning environment,” Bill 18 drew little attention at first. But it has become a flashpoint. Opponents say the bill threatens religious freedom by broadly defining bullying and protecting gay-straight alliances (GSAs) but not mentioning faith groups.

The backlash is most acute in Steinbach, a small city of about 13,500 people southeast of Winnipeg. It’s there that the local MP – cabinet minister Vic Toews – has joined the local MLA and religious leaders in speaking out against Bill 18.

And it’s Evan’s home.

The 16-year-old is trying to start a GSA at the public Steinbach Regional Secondary School, where he’s the only student who has come out as gay. He’s become the face of Bill 18 in the city where it’s most strongly opposed. And it’s not easy.

During Evan’s interviews, with cameras rolling, other students shout slurs at him. He shrugs it off as best he can, saying he’s fighting for those who feel they can’t speak out.“They should not have to feel ashamed, and they should not have to feel like they have to hide themselves,” said the 16-year-old, who was shy, at first, about his fight. “But then I thought about it, and I thought if a church is allowed to vocally oppose a bill, what’s so bad about me standing up for my rights?”

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Photo : Jonathon Liedtke

OurWindsor.Ca by   Jonathon Liedtke

Roughly two-dozen supporters protested in front of the Catholic District School Board’s office to show support for a student who claims she was bullied by her teacher due to her sexual orientation and whose message to other bullied students is to stand up for yourself.

Grade 12 St. Thomas of Villanova student Brooke Mulligan claims that her religion teacher discriminated against her due to her sexual orientation and that she attended the protest because she wanted “to stand up against bullying.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” Mulligan exclaimed in response to the number of people who attended the protest.

“I’ve had a past teacher who has been bullying me at school [since] coming out,” stated Mulligan who added that the religion teacher when discussing homosexuality would explicitly stare at her during class and taught that “homosexuals can’t get married in the Catholic church [which] upset me. Obviously I want to get married when I’m older, in a church.”

“We don’t feel that this is a case of bullying but we are still investigating the circumstances,” said Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board superintendent Michael Seguin who also explained that an investigation into the matter has been launched.

Mulligan claims that a complaint had been submitted to both the school and the school board, however Seguin stated that the board hasn’t received any formal complaint and that Mulligan going to the media caught the board off guard.

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Finally some encouraging news from Anoka-Hennepin.

TW bullying, talk of suicide

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Friends Mykala Edner, 17, right, and Molly Herrmann, 18, both of Coon Rapids, hang out at lunch at Coon Rapids High School last month. Edner identifies herself as bisexual. Bullying of LGBT students in Anoka-Hennepin schools has eased according to many in the district. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

Friends Zach Jensen, 16, left, and Max Miller, 18, laugh during lunch at Coon Rapids High School. Jensen is openly gay and Miller is openly transgender. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

Ann Lindsey remembers feeling scared and hot when she made the phone call.

It was Aug. 25, 2010. The middle-school teacher was sitting in her car outside Jackson Middle School in Champlin during a 47-minute break from teacher training. Lindsey waited till she was on break and off school property because she worried the call might upset administrators in the Anoka-Hennepin school district.

She was calling an attorney at one of the nation’s leading civil rights groups to report the conditions facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students in Minnesota’s largest school district.

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Australian students reported that teachers as well as peers bullied them about their sexuality

A report by Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians (PFLAG), based in the Australian state of Queensland, has said that gay, lesbian, and bisexual students face bullying from their teachers as well as their peers.

According to PFLAG, 70% of gay and lesbian children said they had been bullied about their sexuality and sometimes by their teachers.

The Associated Press reports that PFLAG representatives had met with the Queensland government to discuss the issue.

The Federal Schools Education Minister Peter Garrett said: “I very much want to see state education ministers nationwide recognise that this is a real and present issue for young people in our schools.

“Where we see victimisation or bullying on the basis of sexual choice or gender it is completely unacceptable.”

Department of Education, Training and Employment officials said they would look to address the issue, and would be adding anti-homophobic bullying guidelines to their website.

A recent study of gay youth in England found that 57% of girls and 52% of boys reported that they had been bullied.

To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan (by Shane Koyczan)

Shane is an amazing poet who performed at the Vancouver Olympics closing ceremonies. He hails from beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

TW talk of suicide, violence.

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Shane Koyczan “To This Day” http://www.tothisdayproject.com Help this message have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying. Please share generously.

Nothing like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

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TAVARES, Fla. — More than 100 parents, students and local residents packed a Lake County, Fla., school board meeting on Monday to voice their opinion on a possible ban on extracurricular clubs after a student applied to form a gay-straight alliance club.

The school board is considering eliminating all non-academic clubs from middle and high school campuses instead of allowing a student to form a gay-straight alliance.

Bayli Silberstein
Photo via the Orlando Sentinel

The controversy started after Bayli Silberstein, 14, applied to form the gay-straight alliance at Carver Middle School in Leesburg, Fla.

Silberstein, who is openly bisexual, said her application was denied last school year, and when she reapplied last November, she never received a response from the school’s principal about whether it was approved or denied.

Dozens of attendees at Monday’s meeting wore red shirts emblazoned with “Standing with Bayli,” many of whom were overcome with emotion as they urged the board to allow the gay-straight group to meet, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

The American Civil Liberties Union, citing the federal Equal Access Act, has advised the school district that it cannot pick and choose which clubs to allow based on what they think students should or should not discuss.

According to the ACLU, Silberestein wanted to form the alliance as a way to combat bullying against LGBT students. Silberstein’s application detailed instances of children being shoved or called names because of their sexual orientation.

The school board has not denied Silberstein’s second application, but in a workshop earlier this month, instead drafted a policy that would put an end to any club that is not tied to a specific class.

The policy, if adopted, would effectively ban the gay-straight alliance club from forming.

A decision from the board is not expected until April.

Hardly surprising, but important research nonetheless.

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By Zack Ford on Jan 11, 2013 at 3:22 pm

This week, the Gay-Straight Alliance Network released a new study evaluating the effectiveness of implementing LGBTQ-inclusive curricula in schools. Previous studies have already shown that having an inclusive curriculum helps make schools safer for LGBTQ students, but this study shows that other factors can impact just how effective the inclusive classes can be.

For example, if teachers do not have the proper resources, including professional development, supplemental instructional materials, or updated textbooks, the LGBTQ curriculum was more difficult to implement. This is especially true in the absence of administrative and community support, requiring teachers to shoulder the burden of the materials to implement the lessons. Though California’s FAIR Education Act is now law, schools there have not taken the necessary steps to produce the new resources. In addition, the study found that LGBTQ-inclusive curricula that are implemented school-wide across multiple subject areas had a much bigger impact than curricula introduced in just one class.

The study concludes that more must be done to study the impact and implementation of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, recruit a coalition of stakeholders to support that implementation, and provide the tools and resources necessary to do so. Read the full study.

“Pro-transgender speakers were hissed at, booed and shouted down by the protesters, according to sources in the room.”

Wow. Imagine how this must make the trans* students (or any student) feel when bullying is occurring at meeting supposedly convened to talk about ending bullying.

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

The future of an Ad Hoc committee charged with creating protective policy for East Aurora School District transgender students is in question after its chairman declined to schedule further meetings due to intense opposition from local religious groups and residents.

The brouhaha over the creation of a policy that would create protections for transgender and gender nonconforming students in District 131 continued Nov. 30, when over 120 conservative and religious protesters picketed the committee’s second meeting, raising safety concerns and much uncertainty over the group’s ability to work together.

Committee Chairman Anita Lewis, who also serves on the district’s school board, concluded the at-capacity meeting without determining a future gathering date over safety concerns for some members of the committee who are transgender, and said she will take her concerns to the full school board for further review.

Because of safety concerns, the Department of Justice ordered a police presence at the meeting, according to District 131 Director of Communications Clayton Muhammad.

“We did due diligence to make sure there was a police presence in the building,” Muhammad said, adding that about 25 people spoke before the committee, most of them in opposition of creating a new policy.

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