Date: Wed, 6 Dec 1995 06:12:54 -0800 From: jessea@uclink2.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: Model Action Alert: Kansas State Bd of Ed (14K) [The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project note: the below call for input to a state board of education can be used as a model for similar action in other states. It contains much organizing information generally useful in most other states and localities. We believe that anyone in any way connected with Kansas -- lived there, will some day live there, have relatives there, know somebody from there -- should write to the Kansas State Board of Education...AND organize similar efforts in your own state. After all, if Kansas and other states develop the kinds of inclusive curricular policies being proposed, then eventually all U.S. Senators would be properly educated re LGBT issues and we wouldn't have Dole's flipflops, Helms' venomous hate, etc. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE CONTACT INFO FOR EACH AND EVERY STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. SHOULD YOU IT FOR YOUR STATE OR FOR ALL STATES, JUST LET US KNOW. We also have organizing information for each state, enabling anyone interested to do statewide educational equity organizing. Look at our manual on our Web sites or email us for info on your state! Finally, to get in touch with your local PFLAG chapter, write to and ask for the info.] PFLAG Heartlands Regional Director Sally Morse (email=) is circulating a call for input to the Kansas State Board of Education in support of a list of nine recommendations developed at the conference on youth and educational equity issues and organizing held in Wichita on October 27th and 28th. The conference, and related public hearings, were sponsored by 22 organizations, including major "mainstream" organizations. In her memo, Ms. Morse notes that "According to an article in _The Wichita Eagle_ the week of November 1st, the State Board of Education is concerned about the high teen suicide rate which for gay teens is 2-3 times higher than for any other group of youth." The policy proposals being made to the Kansas State Board of Education include important background information in the form of whereas clauses (and The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project has taken the liberty of adding cite info and contact info where possible): PROPOSALS TO THE KANSAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION CONCERNING THE WELFARE OF SEXUAL MINORITY YOUTH IN PUBLIC EDUCATION WHEREAS, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, in its 1989 " Report of the Secretary' s Task Force on Youth Suicide," estimates that 30% of the approximately 5,000 completed youth (ages 15-24) suicides annually are by gay and lesbian youth who are distressed by the abuse and rejection of their peers, their families, and their religious and academic communities (Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration: Department of Health and Human Services. Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide. DHHS Publication No. ADM 89-1623, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.); and WHEREAS, that same report noted that during the years 1950 to 1980, adult suicide rates increased by 20% while youth suicide rates increased by 170% and suicide rates for youth between the ages of 10 and 14 have increased 120% since 1980; and WHEREAS, the research reported by Harbeck et. al. in Coming Out of the Classroom Closet: Gay and Lesbian Students, Teachers, and Curricula (Haworth, 1992), reported that gay and lesbian students are more likely than their heterosexual peers to contemplate suicide, to more frequently attempt suicide, and to use much more violent means to attempt suicide (National Institute for GLBT Concerns in Education, Inc., 55 Glen St., Malden MA 02148-2414, voice= 617-321-3569, fax= 617-321-9901, email= . Karen Harbeck is Executive Director. Provides consulting and LEGAL advice re ed equity issues); and WHEREAS, a recent study of Massachusetts high school students conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control found that 20% of the students " had made plans" to commit suicide (up from 14% in 1990, while 10% of the students had " actually attempted suicide" (up from 6% in 1990); and WHEREAS, the 1989 " Report of the Secretary' s Task Force on Youth Suicide" also estimated that 26% of young gays and lesbians are forced to leave home because of conflicts over their sexual identity and that gay and lesbian youth forms a large component (between 25% and 50%) of the American homeless youth population; and WHEREAS, that same report noted that physical violence and verbal abuse often are directed against gay and lesbian youth by their teachers and school peers, leading 28% of them to drop out of high school; WHEREAS, the research by Harbeck et. al. demonstrates that by seventh grade gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) youth are subjected to unbearable levels of verbal abuse and physical violence perpetrated by school peers and educators (11% report being assaulted by their teachers),. and that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth are the individuals most often reprimanded by school administrators rather than the perpetrators; and WHEREAS, a public hearing held on October 27, 1995, in Wichita, Kansas, provided painful and moving testimony about gang rapes, violence, maiming, stalking, verbal abuse, parental rejection, isolation, suicide, dropping out of school, unprotected sex due to low self-esteem, substance abuse, and educator misconduct from youth and adults who recently were educated in the Kansas Public School System; and WHEREAS, Harbeck and her colleagues report that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth report high levels of alcohol and other substance abuses; and WHEREAS, gay youth face a high risk of infection from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and since HIV has an average incubation period of 10.5 years before the onset of AIDS, the possible epidemic facing our society in the years ahead is tragic; and WHEREAS, the fifty State Boards of Education meeting as the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), in San Antonio, Texas on October 14, 1994, passed the following educational policy mandate as an amendment concerning sexual orientation protections to NASBE's by-laws (NASBE Resolution 94-6 A): " State boards should provide leadership in eliminating the stereotypes and discrimination on the basis of sex, age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic background or national origin in curriculum materials, counseling methods, and other educational processes; " and [For further info, NASBE can be reached at National Association of State Boards of Education, 1012 Cameron St., Alexandria, VA, 22314, Voice: 703-684-4000, Fax: 703-836-2313.] WHEREAS, the much more conservative National School Board Association which represents the 17,000 local school boards nationwide has passed similar policy mandates [1995 Resolutions, Beliefs, and Policies of the National School Boards Association, 1680 Duke St., Alexandria, VA, 22314, Voice: 703-838-6722, Fax: 703-683-7590: "3.4 Non-Discrimination. School boards should ensure that students are not subject to discrimination on the basis of socioeconomic status, race, color, national origin, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation."] ; and WHEREAS, the states of Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Washington have already instituted policies pertaining to these educational equity and school safety mandates; and WHEREAS, the Federal Equal Access Law mandates that student initiated groups be permitted and supported within all public secondary educational settings, thus establishing a federally protected entitlement for student to form Gay/Straight Alliances having all of the rights and entitlements of other student clubs and organizations; and WHEREAS, the origin of homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality appear to be largely genetic, with any social development completed by age four at the latest, making any discussion of such matters to be an impossible source of creating such awareness; and WHEREAS, the Kansas State Board of Education is committed to abolishing harassment, violence and discrimination against young people because of their race, gender, national origin, color, religion, disability or their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender orientation; and WHEREAS, many of the problems that face gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth are within the purview of state government and public educational institutions and can be corrected by promulgation of information, training and the implementation and diffusion of formal guidelines and policies; and WHEREAS, the health of the State of Kansas is serviced by strengthening the physical and emotional health of both individuals and their families; and NOW THEREFORE, we, the members of the twenty-two organizations that sponsored the public hearings and the educator and youth conferences that took place in Wichita, Kansas in late October of 1995, by virtue of our concern as educators, health care providers, religious leaders, business leaders, parents, students and agents of this community and the State of Kansas, do hereby recommend that the following additions be made to local school policies and the Board of Education policies of the State of Kansas: 1. The Kansas public education anti-discrimination clause for elementary and secondary education be modified to include " sexual orientation.' 2. The Kansas public higher education anti-discrimination clause be modified to include " sexual orientation." 3. School policies shall be enacted to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students from harassment, violence, and discrimination. School systems should make public commitments and policy modifications to ensure that schools are safe places, free of discrimination, violence, and harassment, for all students, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. 4. Training shall be provided to teachers, administrators, and school guidance staff pertaining to crisis intervention and violence prevention. All school staff should be trained to respond to the needs of all students, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students, in areas of harassment and violence, the language of hate, and intervention to prevent suicides, dropping out of school, parental rejection, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, isolation, and teen homelessness. 5. School-based support groups shall be established for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and heterosexual students, as well as students with GLBT parents, siblings, or friends. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and children of GLBT parents experience intense isolation, placing them at great risk for substance abuse and suicide. Every public high school in the State should establish a support group that is widely publicized where all youth can meet each week to discuss issues of interest to the participants. These Gay/Straight Student Alliances should have a faculty advisor and they should comply with the criteria set forth in the Federal Equal Access Law of 1984. 6. Existing school counseling services shall expand their knowledge, resources, and activities to offer positive and affirming assistance and intervention for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth and their families, as well as those students whose parents are GLBT. Appropriate, timely and affirming referrals shall be made for young people and/or families whose needs cannot be met within the school' s counseling resources. 7. School libraries shall develop and provide a collection of literature, books, films, posters, and pamphlets on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues that are easily accessible to all students and faculty. The existence of such resources shall be widely publicized through displays, announcements, posters, and listings. 8. Curriculum in all grade levels shall provide age-appropriate integrated information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, including their experiences and contributions to society. Educators and social service providers shall be encouraged to obtain further education about GLBT issues in order to integrate such themes and issues into their subject areas and/or their crisis interventions. 9. All equity standards set forth in the Kansas Educational Personnel Certification Regulations shall be modified to include " sexual orientation" along with race, gender, national origin, religion, and disability, so that future educators and social service providers are well trained to address their professional responsibilities to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and their families. ------- Please write the Board a letter expressing your own personal feelings about the issue and send it to: Kansas State Board of Education, 120 SE 10th Ave, Topeka KS 66612 Please cc P-FLAG c/o Kathleen White, 7137 Booth, Shawnee Mission, KS 66208. *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ YOU MAY RE-POST. Jessea Greenman The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project*; ph/fax: 510-601-8883, 586 62nd St. Oakland, CA 94609-1245 Gopher to "gopher.outright.com" Web sites: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/glb/person.html/ http://www.pride.net/pridenet/person The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project is *always* looking for volunteer organizers. Please cc us (for our files) on correspondence you send or receive re our action alerts. *Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally.