This literature review presents insights from existing research on how teachers view their role in creating safe schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) students. Analysis of the literature shows that there are concerns for LGBTQI students' safety in schools, that educational settings operate from…

In 2002, Jack Barnes was a school administrator in 11,000-student Sullivan County (Tennessee) Schools when a student brought a racial harassment case against the district. Though an out-of-court settlement was reached, the U.S. Justice Department came down hard with a federal court order forcing the district to pay out millions for third-party…

Gregory A. Love, then a student at Morehouse College, in Atlanta, was beaten in 2002 with a baseball bat by a fellow student in a dormitory shower after Love made what his attacker perceived as a homosexual advance. The attacker was later convicted of aggravated assault and battery. Love sued Morehouse, arguing that the institution was liable for…

As citizens of the United States respond to legislative and judicial actions that have challenged the prohibition against same-sex couples receiving marriage licenses, schools have a timely opportunity to engage students on this most important debate. Educators can help their students understand the full significance of this issue by encouraging…