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The following glossary was taken from the Trevor Project for convenience and ease to understand terms used with-in the guide. The list of terms and some of the definitions have been shortened; for full information please go to the provided link.

LGBTQ: An acronym meaning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (or queer)

LGBTQIA+: An acronym meaning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (or queer), Intersex, and Asexual.

Asexual: A term describing individuals who do not experience sexual attraction or do not have interest in or desire for sex.

Bisexual: A term that describes someone who is attracted to both men and women, or to more than one gender identity.

Cisgender: A person who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gay: A person who is attracted to their same sex or gender.

Gender: An idea created by society (A.K.A. a social construct) that tells us what certain genders are “supposed” to be like.

Gender Expression: How we express our gender identity on the outside.

Gender Identity: Our internal, personal sense of what our gender is. Everyone has a gender identity.

Gender Non-Conforming: Describes a person whose gender expression is, or appears to be, different from what we would expect from their assigned gender. Other terms include “gender variant” or “gender diverse.”

Intersex: Describes a condition in which a person is born with a sex that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male due to genetic, hormonal or anatomical differences.

Lesbian: A woman who is predominantly attracted to other women.

Sexual Orientation: Describes a person’s physical, romantic, emotional, and/or spiritual attraction to another person. Everyone has a sexual orientation.

Transgender (Trans): An umbrella term used to describe people whose true gender identity does not “match” the sex or gender they were assigned at birth.

Queer: A broad term that is inclusive of people who are not straight and/or cisgender.

Questioning: A person who may be processing or questioning their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

Link: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/trvr_support_center/glossary/

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A high school counselor is tasked with promoting “equal opportunity and respect for all individuals” regardless of their age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity,

gender expression, or other demographics. As such, this legal and ethical guide was created to help inform district counselors about some of the rights and protections for LGBTQIA+ students in public school. As the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community is being attacked by citizens, politicians, and media across the nation, schools must ensure the such rhetoric does not enter into a school and impede students’ education.

American School Counselor Association. (2016). The School Counselor and LGBTQ Youth.

Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Position

Statements/PS_LGBTQ.pdf

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The rights of LGBTQIA+ people, and students are often debated nationally. Unfortunately, hurtful and dehumanizing things come out of the mouths of adult and children alike. Polling organizations, such as Gallup, have estimated the LGBTQ population of America to be around 4-10% of the population, while some journalists and community members believe the number to be much higher; either way, a typical American high school will statistically have students who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community (McCarthy, 2019; Robinson, 2002; Steinmetz, 2016). A tragic trend and issue in education in the crises LGBTQIA+ students are facing; LGBTQIA+ youth are harassed and bullied at higher rates, and five times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender and heterosexual peers. If they come from a family who rejects them, they are over eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their LGBTQA+ peers in accepting families. School Counselors and teachers are an essential lifeline to these students in crises and can provide a safe space for them to thrive (Trevor Project, 2020). Currently, a hot-topic issue within the realm of LGBTQIA+ students educational rights, is meeting the rights of transgender students at a public school, particularly with bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams.

McCarthy, J. (2019). Americans Still Greatly Overestimate U.S. Gay Population. Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/259571/americans-greatly-overestimate-gay-population.aspx

Robin, J. (2012). What Percentage of the Population Is Gay? Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/6961/what-percentage-population-gay.aspx

Steinmetz, K. (2016). Inside the efforts to finally identify the size of the nation’s LGBT population. Retrieved from https://time.com/lgbt-stats/

Trevor Project. (2020). Facts about suicide. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/preventing-suicide/facts-about-suicide/

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Link- https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/PositionStatements/PS_LGBTQ.pdf

School counselors must promote a safe and inclusive school environment that eliminates barriers to education for all students. In doing such, the school counselor must “recognize the school experience can be significantly more difficult for students” from marginalized groups, including LGBTQ students. LGBTQ students face many challenges (bullying, harassment, prejudice, hate speech) that impede their academic, social, and career development; to combat these obstacles, counselors should institute schoolwide programs to decrease harassment and bullying, while increasing inclusion (ASCA, 2016).

American School Counselor Association. (2016). The School Counselor and LGBTQ Youth.

Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Position

Statements/PS_LGBTQ.pdf

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#4 Current News Articles Promoting LGBTQ students’ well-being in schools.

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#4 Current News Articles Promoting LGBTQ students’ well-being in schools.

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Promoting LGBTQ students’ well-being in schools.

Link: https://ct.counseling.org/2018/10/promoting-lgbtq-students-well-being-in-schools/

·         LGBTQ students face tremendous hostility (harassment, bullying, assault) from students and staff. The high levels of harassment and assault cause a disruption to their education and lead to increased levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation or attempt.

·         School Counselors can work to create a better environment for LGBTQ youth by dispelling and educating the students, staff, and community about myths surrounding LGBTQIA+ persons.

·         A survey of 600,000 students in schools where students could use facilities in correlation to their gender identity showed no evidence of harassment or inappropriate behavior. Furthermore, some states have instituted laws and policies that impede upon the students right to use the restroom that correlates to their gender identity. School counselors must work within the confines of the law while still maintaining the code of ethics.

·         School policies and laws are supposed to protect all students; unfortunately, most fall short of that promise. In 2015, a study found that of the over 13,000 school districts surveyed, only 20% had LGBT- inclusive policies. As of 2018 (when the article was written) seven states, including Texas, had so called “no promo homo” laws, which prevent LGBTQ education and blocks needed services.

·         Not all staff are LGBTQ friendly; a 2015 survey revealed that over 50% of LGBTQ students had heard derogatory or homophobic comments from school staff. Furthermore, the survey found when an LGBTQ student decided to disclose bullying, assault, or harassment to school staff, over 60% reported their case ignored; those who were not ignored often reported receiving the blame via harsher punishments than their cisgender and heterosexual peers. School counselor stand at a unique position in the school to be able to advocate for under supported students to try and ensure that all students are treated equally and support it under the law, as is their right.

Abreu, R. L., McEachern, A. G., Hall, J. G., and Kenny, M. C. (2018). Promoting LGBTQ students’ well-being in schools. Counseling Today. Retrieved from https://ct.counseling.org/2018/10/promoting-lgbtq-students-well-being-in-schools/

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Courts rake expansive view in Transgender-Rights Cases

Link: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/06/06/courts-take-expansive-view-in-transgender-rights-cases.html

·         Two recent court rulings are added to the increasing legal decisions providing transgender students protections in federal anti-discrimination laws.

·         In 2017, the Boyertown area school district in Pennsylvania instituted a policy allowing students to use the restroom and locker room consistent with their gender identity. A student sued, stating that it violated his right to privacy (Doe v. Boyertown area school district). In May of 2018, a federal appeals court upheld the school policy.

·         Also, in May of 2018, a federal District Judge ruled in the Grim v. Gloucester County school board case. Grim, a transgender student in Virginia was denied access to the restroom that correlated with his gender identity. The judge ruled that this was discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, writing: “claims of discrimination on the basis of trans gender status are per se actionable under a gender stereotyping theory under Title IX (Walsh, 2018, pg26).”

Walsh, M. (2018). Courts take expansive view in transgender-rights cases. Education Week, 37(34) p26. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/06/06/courts-take-expansive-view-in-transgender-rights-cases.html

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A student’s ability to express themselves through their First amendment rights on campus were protected in the Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Today, those freedoms in the first amendment has many applications to LGBTQIA+ students. Students have the right to express themselves (clothes, makeup) in congruence with their gender identity, to be openly ‘out’, as well as bring a same-sex partner to school events and dances.

(Constitutional Law)

U.S. Const. amend. I.

Link: https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/

(Judicial Law)

Tinker v. Des Moines. 393 U.S. 503. U.S. Supreme Court, 1969.

Link: https://www.loc.gov/item/usrep393503/

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#7- Equal Access Act [EAA] and Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)

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#7- Equal Access Act [EAA] and Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)

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The Equal Access Act (1984) ensures schools cannot limit open forums on campus on the “basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of speech at such meetings.” There have been many court cases, citing the EAA, protecting the right of students to form GSAs on campus. One such case happened in 2003 in Klein ISD after the school stalled in allowing the club to form; the suit was dismissed when the club was then allowed to form (Duckler v. Klein ISD, 2003). In 2011, a ‘Dear Colleague Letter” stated for clarification that GSAs were protected under EAA (Duncan, 2011).

(Statutory Law)

Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. § 4071 (1984).

Link: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title20/chapter52/subchapter8&edition=prelim

(Judicial Law)

Dukler v. Klein ISD, No. 4:03-cv-00195 (S.D. Tex. 2003).

Link: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6374774/dukler-v-klein-isd/

(Administrative Law)

Duncan, A. (2011, June 14) Dear Colleague Letter. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/110607.html

Link: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/110607.html

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Public schools are meant to be safe zones, free of harassment, discrimination, and bullying, regardless of background. Students on campus are guaranteed equal protection under the law in accordance with the 14 th amendment; Title IX of the Education Amendments (1972) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically banned discrimination in public schools on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This was expanded to include protection from bullying, and the definition of sex discrimination was expanded to cover LBGT students.

(Constitutional Law)

U.S. Const. amend. VIX.

Link: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27

(Statutory Law)

Education Amendments Act of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§1681 - 1688 (2018).

Link: https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix-education-amendments-1972

(Administrative Law)

Ali, R. (2010, October 26) Dear Colleague Letter. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201010.pdf

Link: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201010.pdf

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Texas Education Code (TEA) requires schools to use a student’s legal name and gender on official school documents such as transcripts, TELPAS essays, and STARR tests. However, this does not apply to non-official documents (school awards, yearbook, daily work) or everyday interactions. This means students may ask teachers to use their preferred name and pronouns. Furthermore, TEA Ethics Code prohibits certified educators from discriminating against LGBT students and colleague. This means if you call another student by their preferred name or nickname, you must do the same for all students.

(Statutory Law)

Tex. Educ. Code § 25.0021

Link: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.25.htm

Tex. Admin. Code § 247.2

Link: https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=4&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=Y

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Klein ISD believes that every student should receive an equal and equitable education, free from harassment, discrimination, and bullying. The Klein ISD Student Handbook outlines their policy on gender-based harassment, which includes the student’s expression gender, regardless with if they do or do not “conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity.” This is “regardless of the student’s or the harasser’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity (Klein ISD, 2019, p97)”

(Administrative Law)

Klein ISD. (2019). Student Handbook, Appendix. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/tcourts1/Downloads/2019-2020%20ENGLISH%20High%20School%20Student%20Handbook%20(1).pdf

Link: file:///C:/Users/tcourts1/Downloads/2019-2020%20ENGLISH%20High%20School%20Student%20Handbook%20(1).pdf

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Link: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

The Role of the School Counselor in relation to LGBTQIA+ Rights on campus.

On campus, school Counselors function as social justice advocates who push for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, to be treated with dignity and respect and safe school environment free from abuse, harassment, and any forms of violence. LGBTQIA+ rights are currently engulfed in a national and contentious political debate, with strong feelings on both sides. Regardless of the counselor’s feelings, they must “exercise great care to avoid imposing personal beliefs or values rooted in one’s religion, culture or ethnicity” onto the rights and obligations owed to their students (ASCA, 2016, pg 1), who must be treated in accordance with their gender identity or expression (ASCA, 2016, pg5.

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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GLSEN Is an LGBTQ advocacy group founded by teachers in 1990. The focus of GLSEN is researching, advising, and advocating for policies that support and protect LGBTQ students, as well as uplifting and empowering student-led advocacy and movements (Day of Silence, Ally week). GLSEN also provides professional development (in-person, Webinars) in educator education on establishing supportive and inclusive schools in curriculum. This source can be used to learn more, especially those with limited experience.

Link: https://www.glsen.org/

GLSEN. (2020). Creating a Better World for LGBTQ students. Retrieved from https://www.glsen.org/about-us

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#13 Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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#13 Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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·         First and foremost, check your personal beliefs at the door; ALL children deserve a safe and caring school environment free of harassment to receive their education.

·         LGBTQIA+ students face increased levels of bullying, harassment comma and assault from students and staff on school campuses, despite their legal rights to express themselves and receive an equal education an equal protection under the law.

·         The difficult school experience is a national debate attacking their basic rights contribute to significantly increased levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal thought comma and ideations compared to cisgender and heterosexual peers.

·         Counselor should collaborate with stakeholders to foster inclusive school atmosphere and curriculum will also decreasing gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination, bullying, harassment, and assault.

·         Students have the right to dress and express themselves in accordance to their gender identity an expression. Schools cannot create dress codes that infringe upon this expression based on stereotypical ideas of gender. For example, dress codes cannot forbid males from wearing dresses, skirts, or make up.

·         Schools cannot prevent LGBTQIA+ students from bringing same-gendered dates to school events.

·         Schools cannot prevent students from forming Gay-Strait Alliances (GSA) or participating in peaceful forms of protest such as the Day of Silence.