Dear John,

Midterm elections are this coming Tuesday! We hope you have a plan to vote, if you haven’t yet voted already.

School board races are critical on the ballot, and too important to skip over when you vote. Ensuring that your school board members are LGBTQ+-affirming can make all of the difference — especially given the events taking place in school board meetings across the country. In the last few years, we’ve seen school boards take actions targeting LGBTQ+ kids, especially trans and non-binary kids. Actions like:

• A school board in Texas recently adopting policies banning trans kids from bathrooms consistent with their gender identity;
• A school board in Indiana voting to ban trans athletes from competing on their preferred teams; and
• A superintendent in Nebraska shuttin down a school newspaper for reporting on LGBTQ+ issues. 

And this is just three recent incidents — there are hundreds more in every state across the country.

Schools should be a safe, affirming, and welcoming place for all, providing access to honest, accurate, and inclusive education. To ensure this, LGBTQ+ kids deserve to have school officials who are affirming and supportive. 

Check out Vote411.org and find out who’s running for school board in your district, their positions on the issues, and whether they are affirming and supportive of LGBTQ+ kids and education; it’s important to make an informed decision when you cast your ballot!

Patrick Cochran (He/Him), Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator
PFLAG National

P.S. For more great voting information, check out our PFLAG Votes resources at pflag.org/vote. And for direct support from our Policy and Advocacy team, contact us at [email protected].

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