August 5, 2019 All Connecticut high schools will be required to offer an elective course in African American, Puerto Rican and Latino history by 2022 under a bill passed by the state General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont in June. Passage of the bill follows months of organizing and mobilizing by … Continued
Educators are on the leading edge of campaigns, initiatives and legislative efforts to create safe and affirming schools and support LGBTQ student rights. Below are summaries of some of the myriad ways educators are standing with LGBTQ students, and working to ensure they feel supported and welcome in our schools and communities. 1. Fostering … Continued
Some 37,000 teachers and teaching assistants working in public schools could gain a pathway to citizenship under two bills pending in the U.S. Senate. Take Action › Tell Congress: Pass the Dream Act Now! CLICK HERE › The legislation, S. 874 and S. 879, provide a pathway to citizenship—and certainty—for Dreamers brought to this country … Continued
Quick! Do housing and land use policies come to mind when you think about what’s necessary for all students to learn to their fullest potential? If you’re like most people, probably not. Take Action › Whether it’s providing stable housing, creating safe and affirming schools, breaking the school-to-prison pipeline or protecting students’ civil rights, educators … Continued
With hate crimes on the rise across the country since Election Day 2016, the collective data from a decade of National School Climate Surveys has allowed LGBTQ student voices to be instrumental in guiding educators, administrators and policy makers in shaping LGBTQ policies. By providing a picture of the challenges and opportunities in states, they have … Continued
Bayard Rustin was a gay African-American activist who worked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., and a leading organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Despite Rustin’s key role in the civil rights movement, and his work as an outspoken advocate of LGBTQ rights in the 1970s and 1980s, many remain unaware … Continued
Some male elementary students in the Oakland Unified School District used to have a tradition they called “Slap Ass Fridays.” It was so pervasive, according to a 4th-grade girl at one Oakland school, that she and all her friends would stand with their backs against a wall every recess and lunch period in order to … Continued
With incidents of discrimination and harassment based upon race, religion and national origin on the rise in schools across the country, more and more educators say they consider their roles in combating hate and intolerance to be as difficult — and as important — as ever.
“We have come up in the age of the murders of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray and many other youth of color. Calls for an end to gun violence, which low income communities of color have been making for years, must include a demand for an end to police violence.”
“Sexual orientation and gender diversity provide the world with a variety that is special and should be acknowledged.”