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While policies supporting LGBTQ students can start to make schools safer places for youth, they will have limited impact and longevity if staff and students do not address the underlying attitudes and behaviors that breed intolerance toward LGBTQ youth. In short, schools can’t just change their ways – they need to experience a transition to a less homophobic environment. Case Study – Make the Road by Walking Way back in high school, Malcolm already knew he was gay, but that was the kind of secret you didn’t tell anyone. After all, boys who acted even slightly effeminate got pummeled. So Malcolm did everything he could to act “straight” in front of his friends. “I remember being in the closet and harassing people who were gay,” he recalls now. “I remember kicking people down the stairs, jumping them.” Find out how Malcolm and organizers from Make the Road by Walking, an advocacy group in Bushwick, Brooklyn, convinced local school administrators and teachers it was time to build a safer environment for LGBTQ students. more > Projects that have used the Transition Framework to Diminish Anti-Gay Bias LGBTQ Youth/Community Project in the West Village The Urban Justice Center Safe Schools Project Fostering Transitions Initiative for LGBTQ Foster Youth Lamda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.
GLBTQ Mentoring Program
Transitions Mentoring Program for LGBTI Youth
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Public schools in the United States can seem deeply homophobic. Even when anti-LGBTQ (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgendered-Questioning) behavior is officially discouraged, there is often no clear procedure for staff or students to follow when it occurs. Sometimes teachers simply advise their LGBTQ students to ignore discrimination. As a result of this “see-no-evil, hear-no-evil” approach, many LGBTQ students feel alienated or even drop out of school. 