John,
Pasco County superintendent Kurt Browning has ordered GLSEN Safe Space Stickers be removed from teacher’s classrooms. The removal of the bright rainbow stickers will leave schools a little less colorful and a lot more unsafe.
In his memo to staff, Browning stated that schools should be safe places for all students, with or without stickers. He pointed to the district’s policies on anti-bullying, anti-harassment and nondiscrimination as ways schools will be expected to protect all students’ rights...
Browning is wrong on all counts and LGBTQ+ students will pay the price.
We know these generalized policies don’t protect LGBTQ+ students. How do we know? Through decades worth of data driven GLSEN research and analysis that shows LGBTQ+ youth experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, bullying and violence than their peers.
LGBTQ+ youth deserve enumerated policies that directly protect students based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Everyday GLSEN is working to pass these policies across the country.
Your gift today sends a clear message to young people that you, John, are with supportive educators in Florida.
Pasco County Schools may be bending to the political will of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis but that doesn’t mean teachers are alone. Your gift today will fill the void of Safe Space stickers with new inclusion trainings for teachers and fighting the passage of anti-LGBTQ+ youth laws.
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers
Executive Director
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers/They, Them, Theirs
PS: John, monthly gifts enable us to respond quickly to attacks like this and provide life-saving interventions for K-12 LGBTQ+ youth.
