Hi John,

All students deserve K-12 learning communities where they can thrive and reach their full potential. Yet we know that every day there are LGBTQ+ students going to schools across the country where they are being policed, whether by the presence of school-based law enforcement or by discriminatory policies that inhibit the full participation of students on the basis of their gender identity.

GLSEN is deeply invested in the decriminalization of youth, including students who are LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and people with disabilities, all of whom are disproportionately denied a liberated and liberating education. Systematic police discrimination in schools is evidence of a broken school climate, and we are committed to advancing a K-12 education system that allows students to learn and grow free from harm.

GLSEN is also steadfastly committed to the full inclusion of transgender and nonbinary students in all aspects of education, which includes ensuring that they are protected by robust nondiscrimination policies.

Creating a better education system for LGBTQ+ students is not just about advocating for what we know is right from decades of GLSEN data and from the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ students, but it is also about building on that knowledge and sharing the information with decision-makers who shape education policy. This is why we are asking you to do three things in support of LGBTQ+ students today: read, watch, and take action. We are asking you to read our issue brief on civil rights principles for safe healthy and inclusive school climates, we are asking you to watch our National Safe Learning Partnership webinar on the need for police-free schools, and we are asking you to take action by sharing GLSEN’s model Local Education Agency (LEA) policy on transgender and nonbinary student inclusion and nondiscrimination with your own LEA. You can find your LEA’s website by entering your zipcode at this link from the National Center for Education Statistics, and from there you can find a contact email address.

Can we count on you to take one or all of these steps in support of LGBTQ+ students?

Thank you for helping us to create K-12 learning communities where LGBTQ+ students can learn and thrive in the fullness of their identities.

In solidarity,
Aaron Ridings
Interim Chief of Staff
Director of Public Policy
Pronouns: He/They
[email protected]

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