In this month's interview, Kappan's editor talks with Paul Kuttner and Kevin Coe about their recent research into how network television news programs have covered preK-12 education. They found that, over the last 35 years, coverage of education has been rare, well under 1% of total coverage. Stories tend to focus on individual teachers and…

Gilbert Valadez recalls how, when he was a 1st grade teacher, he worked with a student to overcome a situation related to her gender identity. He suggests that any teacher working in public school adopt an inclusive attitude about all students and help students become comfortable with their own gender expressions.

This exploration of the "Phi Delta Kappan" archives shows the magazine's long history of addressing issues of sex and gender in schools. Past articles have covered the professional roles of men and women, the education needs of boys and girls, sex education programs, and the treatment of LGBTQ+ teachers and students. The magazine's…

Every student in our public schools should have opportunities to learn about differences in gender and sexuality, just as they should learn about the world's differing cultural traditions, religious practices, and political systems. Such knowledge about human differences is, the authors argue, a basic requirement for active citizenship in a…

Increasingly, policy makers, educators, and school systems are embracing LGBTQ+ individuals and issues in the classroom. This fall, California's K-12 classrooms began using LGBTQ-inclusive textbooks, and, for the last three years, a San Francisco high school has offered an LGBTQ Studies course, likely the first in the country and a pilot for…

This article offers numerical information and statistics regarding sex and schools. It provides answers to questions such as: (1) Are teenagers sexually active?; (2) How widespread is educator sexual misconduct?; (3) Do students report abuse?; (4) Do gay and lesbian students feel safe at school?; (5) How often do LGBT students hear derogatory…

This article presents an interview with Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education Kevin Jennings on his ideas about school safety. In this interview, Jennings describes his plans for making schools safer for students and for developing a way to measure school climate that can drive such changes. Bullied in school, Jennings now devotes his life to…

In order to accommodate the education needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, American schools need to do more than add LGBT information to the curriculum in sex education class. If we believe, as Erikson (1968) suggested--that adolescence is the time when young people try to make sense of who they are--and if we believe that…

Changing a school's culture with regard to how it treats lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students can seem impossible, the author says. Educators must take the temperature of a school climate, map a route, establish rules, and hand out safety gear. Mostly, changing that climate will require educators to listen closely to students and hear…

Speaking as a mother and a teacher educator, the author offers a framework to help K-12 school personnel support gender and sexually diverse students. It identifies components of safe school climate, and describes how educators to create welcoming, safe, and inclusive schools. It also includes resources widely available to counteract the bullying,…

Milwaukee's gay-friendly Alliance High School was conceived to be a welcoming and confirming school for kids who have been teased and bullied and had their interests marginalized in traditional schools. The result is a group of teens who feel they have found a safe place as they explore who they will be and how they will live the rest of their…

A national survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) educators examined differences of perceptions within seven identified factors: homophobia, principal support, policies of bullying language, policies of human rights, job safety, personal safety, and outness. It found that safety is best understood in two dimensions: personal…

Homosexual teachers do not influence children toward homosexuality nor do they proselytize. Teachers should be judged on their effectiveness in the classroom, not by their sexual preference. (Author/IRT)

Discusses case of peer-to-peer harassment of a homosexual high school student in Nevada involving "Tinker" First Amendment expression issues and Title IX peer-harassment case law. Prior to trial, school district agreed to a substantial monetary settlement, but did not admit to First Amendment or Title IX violations. (Contains 13…

The courts are likely to protect teachers whose nonconventional behaviors are practiced with discretion. The delicate balance between the private rights of teachers and the interests of school officials in protecting the integrity of the educational process is summed up in the teacher's duty to privacy. (Author/IRT)