Legal support for advocacy on behalf of gay male, lesbian, and bisexual male and female students was determined in a May 1999 Supreme Court ruling. This ruling, coupled with recent interpretations of the Title IX statute, strengthens the position for a more humanistic school environment. Recommendations for school counselors are included in this…

States that schools have legal and ethical responsibilities for creating educational environments in which all students can learn free of harassment. Presents a summary of information provided to educators by the Gay and Lesbian Education Commission of Los Angeles. Includes specific examples of harassing behavior and terminology relevant to…

Proposes visibility management as a key construct in gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) identity development. Visibility management refers to the dynamic, ongoing process by which GLB youth make careful, planned decisions about whether they will disclose their sexual orientation, to whom and how they disclose, and how they continue to monitor the…

Study investigated gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents' perceptions of their school environment; their experiences with victimization and professional support in school; and individual, peer, and family factors associated with perceptions of and comfort in school environments. Findings suggest school social workers can play key roles in…

Families headed by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender parents are often invisible in or underserved by the school systems. To create important school-home partnerships, schools need to become better informed about these families. The use of anti-bias and informational training, new curricula, liaisons to outside organizations, and official…

Discusses training in the field of school psychology in relation to the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (sexual minority) youth. Using the NASP Principles for Professional Ethics, explains how ethical principles are used to advocate for sexual minority youth. The final section describes specific strategies that school…

In a sample of 121 undergraduate students, found that 77 percent of respondents had experienced verbal abuse and 27 percent had been threatened with violence. Other students were the most frequent victimizers. Fear for one's personal safety on campus was related to frequency of personal harassment, and few victims reported incidents to…

Gay and lesbian students are waging civil-rights campaigns on college campuses demanding that universities allow homosexual couples to live in on-campus housing for married students, create special offices staffed by gay people to deal with gay campus issues, and establish gay studies departments. (DB)

In all but a handful of states, it is legal to discriminate against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation. Ways in which homophobia and anti-gay sentiments affect education in the United States are addressed in this collection of essays. They are written for educators and others concerned about schooling, from kindergarten through…

Considers gay student organizations' rights at state-supported public institutions, discusses the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Offers advice on the major principles and issues that should be taken into account in writing a campus policy regarding the rights of gay student organizations. (Author/RJM)

Homosexual and bisexual students at an urban commuter university (N=33) evaluated academic and student services and commented on areas of needed improvement. Results suggest that these students experience harassment on campus and are ambivalent about the responsiveness of student services. Most students did not utilize many student services'…

Uses qualitative and quantitative measures to examine differences in levels of perceived alienation from campus among 41 students who identified themselves as gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and those who identified themselves as heterosexual. Found differences in alienation levels based on both sexual orientation and gender. Non-heterosexual students…

This compilation of resource materials is prepared for teachers and support staff who either have units on homosexuality in the sexuality curricula and need some additional information or who need to have resources at hand to answer questions from students or staff. The strong opinions around issues related to homosexuality mean that school staff…

Contends that schools are obligated to address unique needs of homosexual youth because of their increased risk for suicide, abuse from peers, truancy, dropping out of school, and lower self-esteem. Proposes that schools develop a diversity room and have a diversity room specialist to meet needs of homosexual adolescents and to encourage a safe,…

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers' Network presents suggestions for teachers for eliminating homophobia in schools. The following suggestions are intended as starting points as teachers begin to think about the issue of homophobia in school: (1) guarantee equality; (2) create a safe environment; (3) provide role models; (4) provide support…