Dear John,

Right now, students are being punished for being authentic to themselves. Conservative politicians and “parental rights” groups are determined to use schools as a platform to punch down on our most marginalized students, parents, and teachers.

That is why for the past few weeks, we’ve put together a series called Know Your Rights, Know Your Power. These resources are meant to be a tool to help students—and those who want to support them—understand the barriers that prevent students from accessing a safe and inclusive education. That means being protected from sex discrimination, harassment, and criminalization.

Why? Because knowledge is power. Power that we can all use to stop these attacks on students’ rights.

We can create a world where schools are sites of innovation and safety. This looks like:

• Ensuring accommodations for pregnant and parenting students to succeed in school.
• Providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for LGBTQI+ students who are being monitored and banned from school activities.
• Protecting survivors who are fighting an uphill battle accessing protections after the Trump administration’s weakening of Title IX.
• Believing and protecting Black girls and femmes who are being disciplined at a far higher rate than their white peers.

There’s still hope. Even though students are facing dire situations, there are still actions you can take to protect students from the lawmakers and school administrators who want to uphold harmful and dehumanizing policies.

Every student deserves to explore their identity.
Every student deserves to equally participate in school activities.
Every student deserves dignity.
Every student deserves to be affirmed.
Every student deserves to be safe.