Read the full AP story below. Also, check out NEA’s official release here.
By GREG TOPPO ------------------
AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s largest teachers union will ask school districts to protect homosexual students and staff by adopting policies that punish harassment and discrimination.
Under a plan adopted Friday by the National Education Association’s board of directors, schools also will be encouraged to develop factual materials for classroom discussions on homosexuality. All staff and students will be encouraged to speak up when they see or experience discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“I think it’s a pretty clear signal that the organization recognizes there are some pretty serious needs for gay and lesbian children in school — and employees,” said Penny Kotterman, president of the Arizona Education Association. She chairs the NEA’s Task Force on Sexual Orientation, which was created last fall to develop the plan.
Kotterman, a middle school special education teacher in the Kyrene School District in suburban Phoenix, said the plan will help schools with difficult issues of student sexuality.
“Staff do need help,” she said. “They need professional development, they need good, factual data that helps them deal with these issues.”
The union said it could provide “accurate, bjective and up-to-date information” on the needs and problems of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students and staff.
A statement by the NEA said the information schools provide should be age-appropriate, nonjudgmental and relevant to subject matter being studied.
Studies indicate that homosexual students have higher dropout and suicide rates and sometimes are treated with hostility by fellow students. NEA President Bob Chase has said gay and lesbian teachers in some states face losing their jobs because of their sexual orientation.
“It is clear that, in too many places, students and education employees who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered face a hostile environment,” Chase said Friday in the statement.
A study last year by the University of North Carolina estimated that 5 percent to 6 percent of students 17 or younger, or more than 2 million students, are gay, lesbian or bisexual.
The NEA represents 2.6 million teachers and other school employees.
Well, now that came out a lot more lesbian than it sounded in my head.
IP: Logged
Floating Rose
Posts: 48
Registered: Jan 2002
You can find the article here in case you want to share the article with your friends.
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Ms. Moderator
Fantastico
Posts: 6818
Registered: Sep 2000
As a teacher this is good news, locally in LA the teacher's are already protected through the district contract from such discrimination and harrassment but a national platform would be a tremendous step.
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Lesbian Gay Type Lover
Posts: 5600
Registered: Sep 2000
Eh...don't get me started on the predicament of gay teachers in the UK. Tony Blair might be el friggin' presidente but he needs to address just these kinds of issues. And will he? I think not.
It's galling to me, as a teacher, to have to hide something that's a pretty essential part of me.
I was out in Manchester a couple of weeks ago and an old student of mine approached me in a gay club. After talking to him, I realised that if I had been able to be out at school, he and several others would have at least had someone to talk to about being gay. But no, it's easier to just ignore it. Bah.
Incidentally, he told me that he and his mates had discussed my sexuality at some length. Heh heh. Little buggers.
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"Bitter, party of one. Bitter, party of one." she muttered... ~ Four Months After by Capt. Murdock
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unregistered
I saw this article & thought you would find it interesting(not Buffy related, but interesting)
Teachers Union Works to Make Schools Safer for Lesbians and Gays
The Board of Directors of the National Education Association (NEA) is developing a set of recommendations to help schools meet the needs of lesbians and gays. The recommendations are meant to combat harassment and discrimination in the school system for both students and teachers. Recommendations will be “provided in accordance with local school district policies” but will focus on fostering respect. “It's about building on simple civil rights enforcement to create an environment in schools where everyone in the community - students, teachers, education support professionals, and parents - respect each other,” said NEA President Bob Chase. “Ultimately, when we respect each other, schools will be safe and hospitable for all."
Lesbian and gay youth face numerous obstacles in the school system. In 1995, one in twelve high school health teachers taught their students that homosexuality was wrong. A Massachusetts study found that 97 percent of students in public high schools there regularly heard homophobic comments from their peers. Many lesbian and gay students are prone to truancy, and LAMBDA Legal Defense and Education Fund claims that 40 percent of homeless youth are lesbian or gay. Lesbian and gay youth are also four times more likely to attempt suicide, according to a 1995 report from the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Education, and gays and lesbians make up 30 percent of all teen suicides, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Hope ya'll find it interesting & I hope it is w/in the rules(yay new buffy tomorrow- tara!!!!)
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unregistered
Pardon the language, but it's about damn time. I just wish they had done something like this when I was in high school. Better late than never, though
------------------
Willow: Where would you go? If you felt lost and alone? Where would you go?
Tara: To you.
**Deleted scene from Bloodties
*reposted by WillTara
IP: Logged
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Registered: Jan 2002 posted February 08, 2002 20:47
You can find the article here in case you want to share the article with your friends.
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posted February 08, 2002 20:47 You can find the article here in case you want to share the article with your friends.IP: LoggedxitaMs. ModeratorFantastico
Posts: 6818
Registered: Sep 2000Ms. Moderator
Fantastico posted February 08, 2002 21:41
As a teacher this is good news, locally in LA the teacher's are already protected through the district contract from such discrimination and harrassment but a national platform would be a tremendous step.
IP: Logged
posted February 08, 2002 21:41 As a teacher this is good news, locally in LA the teacher's are already protected through the district contract from such discrimination and harrassment but a national platform would be a tremendous step.IP: LoggedtommoLesbian Gay Type Lover Posts: 5600
Registered: Sep 2000 posted February 08, 2002 22:07
Eh...don't get me started on the predicament of gay teachers in the UK. Tony Blair might be el friggin' presidente but he needs to address just these kinds of issues. And will he? I think not.
It's galling to me, as a teacher, to have to hide something that's a pretty essential part of me.
I was out in Manchester a couple of weeks ago and an old student of mine approached me in a gay club. After talking to him, I realised that if I had been able to be out at school, he and several others would have at least had someone to talk to about being gay. But no, it's easier to just ignore it. Bah.
Incidentally, he told me that he and his mates had discussed my sexuality at some length. Heh heh. Little buggers.
------------------
"Bitter, party of one. Bitter, party of one." she muttered... ~ Four Months After by Capt. Murdock
IP: Logged
posted February 08, 2002 22:07 Eh...don't get me started on the predicament of gay teachers in the UK. Tony Blair might be el friggin' presidente but he needs to address just these kinds of issues. And will he? I think not.It's galling to me, as a teacher, to have to hide something that's a pretty essential part of me.
I was out in Manchester a couple of weeks ago and an old student of mine approached me in a gay club. After talking to him, I realised that if I had been able to be out at school, he and several others would have at least had someone to talk to about being gay. But no, it's easier to just ignore it. Bah.
Incidentally, he told me that he and his mates had discussed my sexuality at some length. Heh heh. Little buggers.
------------------
"Bitter, party of one. Bitter, party of one." she muttered... ~ Four Months After by Capt. Murdock
I saw this article & thought you would find it interesting(not Buffy related, but interesting)
Teachers Union Works to Make Schools Safer for Lesbians and Gays
The Board of Directors of the National Education Association (NEA) is developing a set of recommendations to help schools meet the needs of lesbians and gays. The recommendations are meant to combat harassment and discrimination in the school system for both students and teachers. Recommendations will be “provided in accordance with local school district policies” but will focus on fostering respect. “It's about building on simple civil rights enforcement to create an environment in schools where everyone in the community - students, teachers, education support professionals, and parents - respect each other,” said NEA President Bob Chase. “Ultimately, when we respect each other, schools will be safe and hospitable for all."
Lesbian and gay youth face numerous obstacles in the school system. In 1995, one in twelve high school health teachers taught their students that homosexuality was wrong. A Massachusetts study found that 97 percent of students in public high schools there regularly heard homophobic comments from their peers. Many lesbian and gay students are prone to truancy, and LAMBDA Legal Defense and Education Fund claims that 40 percent of homeless youth are lesbian or gay. Lesbian and gay youth are also four times more likely to attempt suicide, according to a 1995 report from the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Education, and gays and lesbians make up 30 percent of all teen suicides, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Hope ya'll find it interesting & I hope it is w/in the rules(yay new buffy tomorrow- tara!!!!)
IP: Logged
posted February 12, 2002 00:31 I saw this article & thought you would find it interesting(not Buffy related, but interesting)Teachers Union Works to Make Schools Safer for Lesbians and Gays
The Board of Directors of the National Education Association (NEA) is developing a set of recommendations to help schools meet the needs of lesbians and gays. The recommendations are meant to combat harassment and discrimination in the school system for both students and teachers. Recommendations will be “provided in accordance with local school district policies” but will focus on fostering respect. “It's about building on simple civil rights enforcement to create an environment in schools where everyone in the community - students, teachers, education support professionals, and parents - respect each other,” said NEA President Bob Chase. “Ultimately, when we respect each other, schools will be safe and hospitable for all."
Lesbian and gay youth face numerous obstacles in the school system. In 1995, one in twelve high school health teachers taught their students that homosexuality was wrong. A Massachusetts study found that 97 percent of students in public high schools there regularly heard homophobic comments from their peers. Many lesbian and gay students are prone to truancy, and LAMBDA Legal Defense and Education Fund claims that 40 percent of homeless youth are lesbian or gay. Lesbian and gay youth are also four times more likely to attempt suicide, according to a 1995 report from the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Education, and gays and lesbians make up 30 percent of all teen suicides, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Hope ya'll find it interesting & I hope it is w/in the rules(yay new buffy tomorrow- tara!!!!)
IP: Loggedsilverangel*unregistered posted February 12, 2002 00:32Pardon the language, but it's about damn time. I just wish they had done something like this when I was in high school. Better late than never, though
------------------
Willow: Where would you go? If you felt lost and alone? Where would you go?
Tara: To you.
**Deleted scene from Bloodties
*reposted by WillTara
IP: Logged
posted February 12, 2002 00:32 Pardon the language, but it's about damn time. I just wish they had done something like this when I was in high school. Better late than never, though------------------
Willow: Where would you go? If you felt lost and alone? Where would you go?
Tara: To you.
**Deleted scene from Bloodties
*reposted by WillTara