Massachusetts Board of Education Becomes First
                   in Nation to Endorse Prohibitions on
        Discrimination Against Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students

Boston, MA (EGCM) The Massachusetts Board of Education became the first in the
nation to endorse a series of measures aimed to protect the rights of gay,
lesbian, and bisexual students in the Commonwealth's schools. In a unanimous
vote, the Board endorsed the recommendations issued in February by the
Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.

The recommendations endorsed by the Board of Education are:

1.  Schools are encouraged to develop policies protecting gay and lesbian
students from harassment, violence, and discrimination.

2. Schools are encouraged to offer training to school personnel in violence
prevention and suicide prevention, especially as related to gay and lesbian
youth.

3.  Schools are encouraged to offer school-based support groups for gay,
lesbian, and heterosexual students.

4.  Schools are encouraged to provide school-based counseling for family
members of gay and lesbian youth.

David LaFontaine, chairman of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian
Youth, applauded the action of the Board of Education. "This will be a
foundation to build support for the rights of all gay and lesbian students in
our schools."  LaFontaine noted that the Commission is currently working with
the state's Department of Education to design training sessions for teachers
to familiarize them with issues revolving around the support of gay and
lesbian students.

The Board of Education heard testimony from LaFontaine, gay and lesbian
students, and a public school teacher. Jessica Byers, a student at Cambridge
Ridge and Latin High School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, described how she was
fully supported by fellow students when she told them two years ago that she
was a lesbian. She credited this to the existence of Project 10 East, which
has worked for several years to educate students about the issues that gay and
lesbian students deal with.

Anne Simon, a learning specialist at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in
Sudbury, Massachusetts, described for the Board an incident at which two
female students were harassed by a large crowd yelling homophobic taunts.
"There is no doubt in my mind that if there had not been an intervention,
those two students would have been in danger of being physically harmed,"
Simon reported.  She described how her school formed a Gay-Straight Alliance,
made up of gay and non-gay students, to provide education and support for gay
and lesbian students.  Because of this, she said, "We have created a safer
environment for gay and lesbian students."

Governor William Weld, the first governor in the nation to appoint a
commission to address the concerns of gay and lesbian youth, said that, "The
Board of Education slice is just about right. They supported measures to
support gay and lesbian students who might feel harassed or discriminated
against." Weld went on to say that he feels parents need to teach their
children "tolerance for diversity and nondiscrimination."

Contact: Don Heller; 617-625-9521. David LaFontaine; Governor's Commission on
Gay & Lesbian Youth; Massachusetts State House; Room 111; Boston, MA  02133;
617-828-3039 voice.

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