Subject: L.A. Board of Education Hears About CA Youth Lobby Day
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 23:24:24 -0500

REPORT ON YOUTH LOBBY DAY
TO L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION
JANUARY 8, 1996

By Patricia Nell Warren
Gay and Lesbian Education Commission, LAUSD

Board meetings are broadcast on KCLS-TV, L.A.

	Mr. President, Mr. Superintendent, members of the Board,
	I am one of the newest members of the Gay and Lesbian Education Commission.
 I want to tell the Board  about the commission's  participation in
California's Youth Lobby Day on January 3, and to give you some vital
information about gay youth.  
	First a word about myself.  I've been a writer  most of my life, and was a
Reader's Digest editor for 22 years.  After becoming active in LAUSD, as a
volunteer teacher at EAGLES Center,  I became impressed with the district's
 array of programs benefitting the safety and welfare of gay youth.
	As you know, controversies about gay youth are now generalized all over the
country.  While  I was writing this report yesterday, I went to the online
news services and found a  typical item.  The Providence Journal Bulletin  of
Rhode Island ran a long article titled, "How Bad Is It for Homosexual Teens?"
 The paper quoted two findings from the latest federal survey:
	"*Gay youths account for 30% of the 5,000 or so people ages 15 to 24 who
commit suicide each year.
	"*Nearly 30% of gay teens drop out of school because of harassment from
other students and teachers."
	The article also spoke of the Rhode Island Task Force on Gay and Lesbian
Youth.  This task force was modeled on similar efforts in Massachusetts,
which spurred that state to enact the first-in-the-nation Gay Students Rights
Law.
	Clearly there is a straight line from policies  and attitudes at the
school-district level to legislation  at the state and federal level.  This
is how gay-youth advocates in our state came to create  the first Youth Lobby
Day  in California history.  Held last Wednesday, Jan. 3, the event was
organized by LIFE Lobby, major gay-community lobby in Sacramento, and modeled
on the successful lobby in Massachusetts. 
	Around 300 young people  and 50 supporting adults converged on Sacramento.
 The youths' aim:  to talk to their legislators about several bills, notably
AB 1001, which  adds sexual orientation to the protections guaranteed by
California's education code. AB 1001 was introduced by openly lesbian
Assembly Member Sheila Kuehl.
	From our commission, executive director Kathy Gill, chairman Richard Neely
and I accompanied 45 young women and men from L.A on a district-sponsored
outing to Youth Lobby Day.  We wanted to support Youth Lobby Day because it
is so supportive of  existing LAUSD policies, and because positive  activism
is a powerful antidote to the disenfranchisement that is felt so keenly by
our youth.   Many of our 45 kids have  gone through LAUSD programs like
Project 10 and EAGLES.  With chartered buses and donated plane tickets from
LIFE, other young people  came from the Central Valley, Bay Area, San Diego,
Palm Springs.  A fortunate few live with supportive families; others live
independently or in  shelters, and have gotten back into school on their own
initiative. Among the 300 lobbyists were several supportive heterosexual
students who started gay-straight alliances in their own high schools. 
	At the opening briefing at 10 a.m.,  LIFE lobbyist  Ellen McCormick  told
the young people, "The legislature doesn't believe you exist." She pointed
out that it took a full decade for the California legislature to  address
AIDS issues.  Some legislators and school administrators  still insist  that
they know of no homosexual students  in their schools.
	Further briefing came from Assembly Member Kuehl herself, who likened state
government to The Wizard of Oz.  Kuehl said:  "Remember when Dorothy found
out  that the Wizard was really a little old man behind a curtain, pushing
buttons and turning wheels?  Well, the legislature  is like that."  The young
people liked that comparison!
	At 11:30 a.m.,  network news crews filmed our  rally on the Capitol steps.
After lunch,  the  young people split  into little district groups and
visited  their legislators' officers. Some, like Assemblymember Villaraigosa
and Senator Solis, were welcoming and eager to listen to the young people's
stories about problems they encountered in their schools. Other legislators
were clearly taken aback by the well-behaved but energetic presence of such a
large group of "nonexistent" gay  kids in the Capitol building.
	Sen. Rob Hurtt, who has advocated reinstating the California sodomy laws,
 found his office besieged by young lobbyists.  Reportedly the Senator was
not available for comment.
	Unfortunately, that very day, a bi-party struggle  resulted in the
Republicans gaining control not only over the Assembly Speaker's seat but the
Rules Committee as well.   "So you can forget about AB 1001 for this
session," one Democratic chief of staff told us.
	Nevertheless, the young people were inspired by their outing.  Beyond the
personal empowerments of the day, was the realization that they have  a right
to be there at the Capitol, and have their say.
	On behalf of the Commission, I  want the Board to know that their supportive
policies are having a positive effect on real lives out there -- young people
who do not commit suicide, or drop out of school for good, or die of AIDS.
  Young people who want to lead creative and positive lives as California
citizens.   As the controversies continue, the Gay and Lesbian Education
Commission hopes  that the L.A. Board of Education will stand firm in their
concern for the welfare and safety of gay youth.
	Thank you.

==============================================
Copyright 1996 by Patricia Nell Warren.   May be cross-posted
on the Internet.  For reprinting by print media, contact
[email-masked] or call 213/936-3666
==============================================

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