My School Is Discrimating Against Lgbts

[Guest Emily Violet]

my school administration has been and is discriminating against lgbts firstly by banning gay straight alliance

they also frown upon gay couples and pda at school and will try to punish you for it

they also banned crossdressing

if they could enforce it theyd ban lgbts all together

how do they get away with all of this

its because they use a time trusted technique labeling it as "for the safety of the student body" which if you look into it is how people in power have been able to persecute others for years

now this goes against my constitutional rights as a american and as a person

firstly the 14th amendment stating that no person can be denied the same rights as others

second the 1st amendment right to free speech and expression

and my right to a peacful assembly

not to mention its completely illegal to discriminate against people in any public environment

my school is the only one in the district that does this and gets away with it

the student body is very blind to this and they want to keep it this way because its wrong and they know it if it got out that they do this they would have lawsuits on their hands so any one that tries to do anything bout it gets punished

this is a example of fascism played out in my school feeling that your superior to others and then discriminating against them to put them down cuz they are a minority

now i need some ideas of how to fight this

im going to protest it peacefully

ive thought bout writing a letter to the school board or superentendent

ive thought bout going to the pta or even writing to my state board of education

but i need the student body on my side and ive thought bout petitioning the school to get a gsa

im prepared to do whatever it takes cuz stuff like this is wrong unconstitutional and clearly prejudice

any suggestions or comments

[Guest Otto]

What to they Want?

All to be the same, they're discriminating and untolerant.

Unfortunately a lot of schools are like that, still. It's sad because we're arleady in 21th Century.

Even in a very good school , they'll always be people like that.

I'll try to give you suggestions when i'll be more concentrated

[Guest chngnwnd]

I would recommend contacting the ACLU - this is something they may be able to help you with.

I feel for you having to go through this - I had a similar tough time in high school (but for different reasons) - I stood up for my rights - policies did not change while I was still in school, but the year after I graduated a new policy went into effect that favored my position.

Bobby

[Guest chngnwnd]

Sorry - almost forgot.

Contact the school board for your district - get yourself on the agenda for thier next meeting giving them as little info. as they will accept to give you time to address them (you don't want to play all your cards up front). Also, when you go to speak at their meeting - take as many students and parents with you as you can. If you can't officially get on the agenda, many school boards allow time for the general public to address them and address concerns about the schools in the district.

If you can persuade the school board to change district policy - the paid administration must comply.

Best of luck to you.

Bobby

[Carolyn Marie]

Hmmmm. Are you sure Emily that its just your school and not district policy? Every school in the district should have to follow the same

policy towards dress codes, student associations, and public displays of affection and the like. So, you first need to find out what the

district's policies are, then compare them to what the school is doing, or the school's own policies. If the school administration is violating

the district's policies, you can complain on that basis.

If the school is following the district policies, you'll have a tougher time. The courts, all the way to the Supreme Court, have held that students

in primary schools can have their rights restricted to some degree. It comes down to what the courts feel is reasonable to protect the

students and foster a learning environment free of "distractions." So, no, students cannot generally wear whatever they want, cannot use

profanity in the classroom, cannot engage in what my generation used to call "heavy petting," in public, and so on.

If the district allows some campus clubs and not others, you need to find the basis for what they will or won't allow. Do the research, prepare your

arguments, and then contact the district or the ACLU, or whomever. Don't just be mad, be well prepared. You'll get a lot more respect that way.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Emily Violet]

Hmmmm. Are you sure Emily that its just your school and not district policy? Every school in the district should have to follow the same

policy towards dress codes, student associations, and public displays of affection and the like. So, you first need to find out what the

district's policies are, then compare them to what the school is doing, or the school's own policies. If the school administration is violating

the district's policies, you can complain on that basis.

If the school is following the district policies, you'll have a tougher time. The courts, all the way to the Supreme Court, have held that students

in primary schools can have their rights restricted to some degree. It comes down to what the courts feel is reasonable to protect the

students and foster a learning environment free of "distractions." So, no, students cannot generally wear whatever they want, cannot use

profanity in the classroom, cannot engage in what my generation used to call "heavy petting," in public, and so on.

If the district allows some campus clubs and not others, you need to find the basis for what they will or won't allow. Do the research, prepare your

arguments, and then contact the district or the ACLU, or whomever. Don't just be mad, be well prepared. You'll get a lot more respect that way.

Carolyn Marie

no its mainly our school that has banned gsa and idk bout the other policies but it is well known that mine is the worst for lgbt students because of how they treat them

[Guest Girl Emily]

Emily,

If you follow Elizabeth's guidance and document blatant discrimination with independent witness statements about the event taken as close to the event as possible. Memory's fade and if your witnesses statements condrict an administrator view of the event but are in harmony themselves you will fare better. Is there an lgbt friendly teacher?

My days in school all student clubs had an interested faculty member assist the club in an advisor type way.

Huggs,

[Guest Cayden]

My old high school had these same problems about two years ago and this is what the students did. They learned all the rights they have and rules of the local school district and the school. Then from there you write a letter stating that what the school is doing is infringing upon the students rights and quote some rules you learned to show them you mean business (make sure it sounds professional and has no errors.) Then if they do not respond or they write back saying they have the right to do this then take it to local student board meetings/PTA meetings and if that does not work take it to the superintendants office. If none of the above steps work which in my schools case did not then you call on your states NCBI (National Coaliton Building Institue) and if your state does not have a NCBI then contact the ACLU. In the end things will get straightend out. In my schools case we also threatned to take this to the local news outlets; we did this as a last resort when we got NCBI involved and they did not want to change; as soon as we said we were going to bring the news in things changed for the better and now the rules of the whole school district were changed so LGBTQI rights we stated in the policies so they could not be discriminated against.

[Guest Girl Emily]

Emily,

I was doing research on something else and I learned that Oregon's transgender protection laws make discrimination against transgender students. Also, title IX protects students from discrimination in the Ninth federal court district which includes Oregon.

If you want to fight this, cross dress and when they send you home you will have suffered damage. This will give you standing, or the ability to bring a lawsuit alleging discrimination. Make sure Your wearing modest non-inflamatory clothes or they can legally send you home. A blanket policy banning cross dressing is a violation of your right of expression against federal and state law.

Huggs,