No big surprise here, but a recent study shows that 95% of our nation’s schools have little or no gay, lesbian or bisexual resources in their counseling services.
The National Schools Assessment is the result of a yearlong examination of the nation’s schools and how they deal with LGBT students. It was undertaken in January 2004 by PFLAG, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and researchers at the University of Maryland.
The results, released Thursday, show schools are not responding to the needs of gay students.
Seventy percent of the school had no training for educators/staff on how to stop GLBT bullying and 92 percent had no programs to train students how to stop GLBT bullying.
Nearly two thirds of the schools did not include gay, lesbian or bisexual students in their harassment/non-discrimination policies, and 84 percent had little or no resources for parents about GLBT issues
“Our findings help explain why so many people still hold on to damaging old fictions and profound misunderstandings about our GLBT family members and friends,” said Ron Schlittler, PFLAG’s executive director. “Misinformation goes unchallenged because accurate information is virtually banned in our schools.”
Try introducing gay, lesbian and bisexual resources into those schools’ counseling services, and see what happens. Meanwhile there is a bit of encouraging news. Kids are doing for themselves what school officials can’t or won’t do for them.
Schlittler said that it is time to face up to the problem, but noted there are some encouraging signs. “Nearly 39 percent of respondents reported the existence of support groups for gay and straight students that address the needs of GLBT students,” he said.
Pissed that I missed De-Lurker Day, I’ve had the same problem of ‘deafening silence’ over at TCFW. I know too, there are a lot of dedicated readers, but I fear somehow I’ve intimidated them into mutes!
I agree, in spite of an embolden Christian Right, we should not stop fighting to get gay/lesbian support and education into our nation’s schools. However, we know there are plenty of such organizations and peer groups available outside of school, which should not be a mystery to such a web savvy generation. Hopefully, those groups are reaching out to tolerant educators and arming them with effective ans appropriate resources.
As for that troubled outed teen you’ve written much about, surely there must be a PFLAG family or parents in the area, who would take him?