Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 06:34:39 -0800 (PST) From: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: NABOZNY: now what? taking it to next level || Wisconsin district to pay for not protecting gay student || GLSTN Nat'l Conference: March '97 in Utah!! NABOZNY: now what? taking it to next level The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project has lots of background info on the Nabozny case, which recently concluded in a major "win" (a $900,000 settlement for the gay victim of school-sanctioned abuse), at: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Alerts/Old/appeal.html and http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Alerts/Old/jamie.html and http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Alerts/States/Wisconsin/suit.html and http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Resources/nabozny.html WE URGE YOU TO STUDY CLOSELY THE PATHBREAKING LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND DOCUMENT AT http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Resources/manual.html AS IT IS A MANUAL ON Stopping Anti-Gay Abuse of Students in Public Schools from a Legal Perspective. folks, LGBTQ young people are being abused DAILY in almost every single public school in this country. now we have the tools in hand to stop this. MAKE SURE EVERY EDUCATIONAL POLICY MAKER IN YOUR LOCAL, CITY, COUNTY, STATE, AND FEDERAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS KNOWS ABOUT THE NABOZNY CASE. Look up YOUR state in our organizing handbook at http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ and go to section II (Education specific info). IF LLDEF's research has turned up any LAW which offers some protection for students, it will be cited there. MEET with your state and local educational leadership to make them aware of their duty. ISSUE A PRESS RELEASE AND MAKE SURE IT GOES TO YOUR EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AS WELL AS TO THE MEDIA. HERE'S A MODEL FROM THE PA L/G TASK FORCE: " PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Since 1984, the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force has argued aggressively for education equity on behalf of women and minorities, inclusive of lesbian and gay students and teachers. This year in a landmark victory, led by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the Nabozny case found that lesbian and gay students are entitled to equal protection under the law and that school officials may be held liable for damages arising from officials failure to take action to protect gay students. Today, school officials responsible for ignoring the hate-based assaults against Jamie Nabozny, a Wisconsin student, agreed to pay nearly a million dollars to settle the case. This striking victory should send a very clear signal to local and state education leadership in Pennsylvania who want to derail statewide education regulations to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (1993), and who want to silence multi-racial-multi-cultural-gender education policies to promote equality and justice (1994). According to a 1996 Lesbian and Gay Task Force statewide study (n-3086), more than 1 of every 2 men and nearly 1 of every 3 women reported abuse in school settings. (The Study of Discrimination and Violence Against Lesbian and Gay People in the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 72 pages). Education leaders who refuse to act to advance progressive education reform for all children - including gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth, are morally culpable for the enduring harm suffered by our youth, and now will be held financially liable for failing to protect lesbian and gay youth from students who have learned to hate." ========== ========== GLSTN TO HOLD NATL CONFERENCE IN UTAH -- GLSTN NEWS RELEASE GLSTN 122 West 26th Street, Suite 1100 New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212-727-0135 Fax: 212-727-0254 Email: glstn@glstn.org Web: http://www.glstn.org/ For Immediate Release November 21, 1996 For More Information, Contact: Deidre Cuffee-Gray, Media Coordinator or Kevin Jennings, Executive Director: 212-727-0135 GLSTN ANNOUNCES SALT LAKE CITY AS SITE FOR FIRST-EVER NATIONAL CONFERENCE CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND AWARD NOMINATIONS ISSUED (New York, NY) The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) today announced its choice of Salt Lake City, Utah as the site for its first-ever national conference, to be held March 21-23, 1997. Hosted by GLSTN Utah, the conference will bring together hundreds of teachers, parents, community activists, and students working to create schools were all people are respected, regardless of sexual orientation. The issue of anti-gay bigotry in schools has been a hot one in Utah this year. In January 1996, students and teachers at Salt Lake City's East High School formed a Gay-Straight Student Alliance, an act which prompted the Utah legislature to ban all student clubs in April 1996 in an effort to prevent the East High GSA from meeting. In response, teachers, parents, students, and community members banded together to form GLSTN Utah, one of the GLSTN's most active chapters, which led the national organization to choose Utah as the site for its first-ever national conference. "We've chosen the theme 'Stand and Deliver' for the conference," said Kevin Jennings, GLSTN's Executive Director and a former high school history teacher, "because we need to stand and deliver a message of tolerance and justice in Utah. We need to let the folks who are fighting for equal educational opportunity there know that they are not alone." Doug Wortham, Co-Chair of GLSTN Utah, added "We couldn't be more proud to be the hosts of this historic event. The legislature obviously thought they would silence us with their actions last spring, but they've done just the opposite -- they've brought us support we never dreamed we had from both Utah and beyond." Wortham added, "To borrow the motto of the 2002 Winter Olympics, which are to be held here, 'Utah Welcomes the World' to the GLSTN National Conference!" The Conference will be preceded by special one-day institutes on Friday, March 21 for "Straight Allies," GLSTN Chapter Leaders, People of Color, and LGBT Educators, as well as a "Change Agent" Training. That evening, Kelli Peterson, founder of the East High GSA, and Clayton Vetter, Utah's first openly gay pubic school teacher, will welcome participants at a free reception. The formal conference will begin on Saturday, March 22 with a keynote by Urvashi Vaid, former Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and author of VIRTUAL EQUALITY, followed by workshops that day and on Sunday, March 23. The conference will close with a Brunch Celebration with comic Suzanne Westenhoefer, at which GLSTN will present its 1996-97 Pathfinder Awards for leadership in the fight to end bigotry in our schools. Registration forms are available by calling 212-727-0135. "Looking over this program, there will obviously be something for everybody!" added Jennings In a related announcement, GLSTN called for proposals for presentations at the conference as well as nominations for the Pathfinder Awards in the following categories: Student, Educator, Parent, Community Activists, and Organization. **** Proposal and nomination forms are available from **** 212-727-0135 and are due by December 15, 1996. --30-- *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ OK TO RE-POST. Jessea NR Greenman, The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project is an all-volunteer effort CHECK OUT OUR FREE INFO-LOADED WEB PAGE AT http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ "The struggle will never end so enjoy it!" Maudelle Shirek