Principals should lead for social justice, particularly in support of marginalized and vulnerable students like lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) adolescents. This quantitative survey-based study collected data from 116 middle grade principals in Indiana to examine the implementation of antibullying policies and best…

New York City (NYC) is considered to be one of the world's most progressive cities and gender and sexuality diversity (GSD)-inclusive education departmental policies appear to reflect these values. However, even within such a context, NYC educators report challenges in their work to meet the needs of trans/gender-diverse students and the…

Over the past three decades, much of the conversation about LGBTQ students in schools has centered on safety--anti-bullying policies, the "safe space" of gay-straight alliances, and "safe zones" marked by rainbow-colored stickers on classroom doors. In this article, Michael Sadowski argues that it's time to move beyond safety…

Sexuality education teachers in the USA are often the only officially sanctioned voice in schools charged with teaching students about sexuality and gender. This paper considers the ways in which sexuality education teachers conceptualise gender and anti-queer bullying in order to explore the ways in which teachers understand their own role in the…

"Safe Is Not Enough" illustrates how educators can support the positive development of LGBTQ students in a comprehensive way so as to create truly inclusive school communities. Using examples from classrooms, schools, and districts across the country, Michael Sadowski identifies emerging practices such as creating an LGBTQ-inclusive…

Scholars have become more attentive to lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual/queer/questioning (LGBTQ) topics as queer perspectives become increasingly prevalent in middle and high school environments. This study examines how educators navigate social and academic environments in order to incorporate inclusive pedagogical practices and cultivate safe…

This phenomenological inquiry explored the experiences and reactions of five school counselors who worked in a school that banned a Gay-Straight Alliance club. Specifically, the authors examined how counselors' perceptions of the ban influenced their advocacy for LGBTQQ students. The results of semi-structured interviews revealed one overarching…

This program review examined a middle school Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club within a northeastern suburban school situated in a large metropolitan area. The GSA was the first in the region to start exclusively in a standalone middle school. The review was accomplished through a staff survey comparing school climates for lesbian, gay, bisexual,…

Sexual harassment has long been an unfortunate part of the climate in middle and high schools in the United States. Often considered a kind of bullying, sexual harassment by definition involves sex and gender and therefore warrants separate attention. The legal definition of sexual harassment also differentiates it from bullying. Based on a…

Students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered are susceptible to harassment from their peers and are at high risk of dropping out of school. This book provides professional development ideas and real-life vignettes that will help educational leaders foster a more caring school culture not only for LGBT students, but for all…

Past research documents that both adolescent gender nonconformity and the experience of school victimization are associated with high rates of negative psychosocial adjustment. Using data from the Family Acceptance Project's young adult survey, we examined associations among retrospective reports of adolescent gender nonconformity and adolescent…

Schools contribute heavily to the feelings of isolation and stigmatization that many gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth experience. Research demonstrates that the climate of US middle and high schools are generally unsupportive and unsafe for many of these youth who are often susceptible to harassment, discrimination, and other negative events,…

In 2007, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) conducted the fifth National School Climate Survey (NSCS), a biennial survey of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) secondary school students. The NSCS examines the experiences of LGBT youth in U.S. middle and high schools, documenting bias and behaviors that make schools…

The relationship between bullying or harassment and LGBT youth is examined in this article. Recent research has exposed a relationship between gender-based and sexualized forms of violence and harassment in school, and it's been theorized that heterosexism-- the belief that heterosexuality is superior to other forms of sexuality -- is the…