Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 06:25:36 -0800 (PST) From: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: El Centro (CA) Action Alert || School Bd. questionnaire || American School Health Association Policy || Call for research [This just in from Kathy Gill, Director of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Gay and Lesbian Education Commission:] Hi to all, Yesterday [Weds.], I spoke with Catherine Drew, a gay supportive teacher, who is backing her students to start a supportive group for L.G.B,T.Q students. There has been a backlash from some religious groups. There is a board meeting at El Centro on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 pm.. There is a desperate need for support for students, educators and community members to support this effort Please attend the meeting. I'll be notifying Bakersfield and Orange Coast students also. Jan Gaborsky in San Diego will notify the center there. Please help us. Directions Interstate 8 to 4th Strteet left under the freeway to the 2nd light to Ross Road turn right. The address is : 351 E. Ross Rd El Centro, CA 92243 Thanks, Kasthy Gill [The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project adds: if you can't go, WRITE to the El Centro School Board at the above address.] ============ ============ The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project just received from the Utah Progressive Network (nonpartisan, nonPAC) a sample questionnaire to use on School Bd. candidates. Among the questions of use to others everywhere, in general and also in particular to ferret out stealth right wing candidates: What is the proper role of local and state school boards, state legislators and the federal govt in setting educational policy? [beware those who oppose ANY national educational initiatives or policy] How would you support age-appropriate sexuality education and HIV prevention efforts in the schools? [One in four new HIV infections in the U.S. occur among people under the age of 20. Clearly ed. policy makers such as school bd. members have a duty to educate young people re HIV.] What is your position on using tax dollars to fund private (including religious) schools? [beware those in favor]. In Utah, you can actually call the candidates for state and local school board to ask them these and other questions yourself: Candidates for state school board: Boyd Jensen 451-8061 Kent Michie 524-2100 Susan Henshaw 224-4311 Marlon Snow 486-7121 Daryl Barrett 582-1898 Jill Kennedy 583-2425 Grant Hurst 481-5183 Jerald Sumsion 572-9278 Candidates for Salt Lake School Board Ila Rose Fife (Precinct S2) 521-7383 William Price (Precinct S2) 539-8975 Cliff Higbee (Precinct S1) 595-6552 L. Steven Woodall (Precinct S1) 521-7302 Roger H. Thompson (Precinct S5) 583-8338 ============ ============ American School Health Association Policy [The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project notes: a formatted version of this has just been added to the END of our extensive list of professional education organizations with LGBT supportive policies, which is located at http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Handbook/appendix3-1.html knowing about these policies will help you as an organizer/activist for educational equity, since not only are there many different such professional statements of support from which you can select when presenting arguments to policy makers, but also when taken as a whole, they represent a substantial body of evidence that the CURRENT PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS OF PRACTICE in most education related fields ALREADY ARE LGBT inclusive and supportive! Since this fact is little known, even to members of these professional organization, disseminating these policy statements widely will help turn the tide of professional behavior (when administrator or board member or teacher or counselor or...whatever) toward the path of LGBT understanding and support.] ----- American School Health Association Policy Policy Statement for Gay and Lesbian Youth in School (date unknown but before 1993) American School Health Association, (ASHA, 7263 State Route 43, P O Box 708, Kent, OH 44240) which has a membership of over 3,000 health educators, school nurses, and physicians, has issued a comprehensive and compassionate policy statement and resolution regarding gay students in schools. The policy statement and resolution were the result of a year-long study by a special task force made up of members of the American School Health Association. While the policy and resolution are not legally binding, they make a forthright statement about issues of students' rights and about the effects of discrimination. With their focus on the "dignity and worth of all students," the policy and resolution suggest a compassionate and reasonable way to deal with issues related to gay youth in our schools. Their texts are as follow: POLICY STATEMENT ON GAY/LESBIAN YOUTH IN SCHOOLS It is the position of the American School Health Association that school personnel should demonstrate respect for the dignity and worth of all students. Furthermore, all young persons should have an equal opportunity for quality education regardless of their sexual orientation. Curriculum materials, teaching strategies, and school policies that do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation should be implemented in schools. Sexual orientation should be addressed in the sexuality component of the comprehensive health instruction curriculum. School personnel should discourage any sexually oriented, deprecating, harassing, and prejudicial statements injurious to students' self-esteem. Every school district should provide access to professional counseling by specially trained personnel for students who may be concerned about sexual orientation. RES0LUTlON ON GAY/LESBIAN YOUTH IN SCHOOLS WHEREAS, the educational system in the United States traditionally has been expected to provide instructional and support programs which meet the needs of diverse groups within the student population and to discourage discrimination against individuals based on group membership; WHEREAS, of the millions of young people between ages 10 and 20 in the United States, a significant number are believed to be predominantly or exclusively homosexual; WHEREAS, research indicates that sexual orientation may be established before birth or is developed between the ages of three and nine; WHEREAS, the report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide states that gay teenagers are three times more likely to attempt suicide; WHEREAS, in a recent study of lesbian and gay men by the National Gay Task Force, one-fifth of the females and nearly half of the males reported they were harassed, threatened with violence, or physically assaulted in high school or junior high because they were perceived to be lesbian or gay; WHEREAS, unlike other oppressed minorities, gay youth often do not have the support of family and peers; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the American School Health Association believes that school personnel should demonstrate respect for the dignity and worth of all students. BE IT FURTHER RES0LVED that the Association believes that all young persons should have an equal opportunity for quality education regardless of their sexual orientation; THAT curriculum materials, teaching strategies, and school policies that do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation should be implemented in schools; THAT sexual orientation should be addressed in the sexuality component of the comprehensive health instruction curriculum; THAT school personnel should discourage any sexually oriented, deprecating, harassing, and prejudicial statements injurious to students' self-esteem; THAT every school district should provide access to professional counseling by specially trained personnel for students who may be concerned about sexual orientation. (end) ========== ========== Call for Research: The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project would like to start adding more research on LGBT issues in k-12 education to our Web page. We know a good number of you, dear readers, ARE researchers, whether in academe or elsewhere. IF you have online (or uploadable) or know of any research studies already online which are relevant, PLEASE either send them to us (abstracts and citations fine) or let us know the links to their locations. We want to be sure all the fine knowledge out there is put to use by putting it in the hands of practitioners and activists in the field!!! *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ 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 problem with the rat race is, even if you win, you're still a rat" -- Lily Tomlin