Transforming Our Schools A Population at Risk Claremont Graduate University June 22, 2007 Judy Chiasson, PhD

A Population at Risk Judy Chiasson, Ph.D. Office of Human Relations, Diversity and Equity

Diversity Question What does Diversity mean in Los Angeles?

LA County Census

LAUSD has 704,417 students

California Protected Categories Sex Sexual orientation Gender identity Ethnic group identification Race Color National origin Religion Mental or physical disability

Bullying Checklist 1. Unwanted conduct 2. Behavior that targets one of the protected categories 3. Severe and pervasive 4. Objectively offensive 5. Denies access to educational program

Who feels most unwelcome at school? Of all populations on our campus, sexual minorities are at the highest risk for a plethora of stress- related behaviors.

Sexual Minorities Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Questioning Intersex Same Gender Loving On the Down Low No label

How many are there? 6% of students identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender 16% of students have gay, lesbian, or transgender family members

How many are there? 2.1 million people in LA County are or have LGBTQ family members (10 million x 21%) 10,000 California children are being raised by gay and lesbian parents (US Census)

The Invisible Population Sexual orientation is invisible. What is the cost of invisibility? It’s high, it’s bad….

How bad is it?  80% of LGBT youth have experienced verbal abuse  44% have been threatened with physical violence

At school 97% youth report hearing anti-gay comments from their peers “frequently” 53% report hearing anti-gay comments made by teachers The average student hears an anti-gay comment 25.5 times per day or every 8 minutes

Guidance counselors Two-thirds of guidance counselors harbor negative feelings toward gay and lesbian people. Less than 20% of guidance counselors have received any training on serving gay and lesbian students.

Teachers 77% of prospective teachers would not encourage a class discussion on homosexuality. 85% oppose integrating gay/lesbian themes into their existing curricula.

Teachers 80% of prospective teachers report negative attitudes toward gay and lesbian people. 66% of prospective teachers can be classified as “high-grade homophobes.” 52% of prospective teachers report that they would feel uncomfortable working with an openly lesbian or gay colleague.

School violence

School shooters All school shooters were males who had been mercilessly and routinely teased and bullied. Their violence was retaliatory against teasing that was homophobic in nature (fag, queer, sissy). Michael S. Kimmel & Matthew Mahler. Adolescent masculinity, homophobia, and violence: Random school shootings, The American Behavior Scientist; June 2003, 46.10

Growing up LGBT adults report having heard significantly higher frequencies of anti- gay comments while growing up as do heterosexuals.

Who is saying these things? Parents Relatives Religious leaders Political leaders Peers Teachers Actors Musicians Comedians

In our communities

2005 Hate Crimes in LA County

Prime targets GLBT persons are most likely to be the targets of hate crimes (1:3.8) African American are 2 nd most likely to be the targets of hate crimes (1:3.5)

Suicide 33% of GLB high school students reported attempting suicide in the previous year, compared to 8% of heterosexual youth. LGBTQ persons are nearly four times more likely than non-LGBT persons to attempt suicide.

Gay Youth of Color Sean Ethan Owen

Gay Youth of Color Up to 46% of GLBTQ youth of color experience physical violence related to sexual orientation. Over 48% of GLBTQ youth of color were verbally harassed in school regarding sexual orientation and race/ ethnicity.

Gay Youth of Color Violence against gay youth of color is more likely to be perpetrated by family members. 61% report being victims of violence by family members. 40% report being victimized by peers or strangers.

Our challenge Understand, empathize and be compassionate about something that may be outside of our own experience.

Intergenerational Prejudice Adolescents’ biases correlate with those of their parents, in this order: Gays and lesbians Sexism HIV/AIDS Weight Race Ryan, M., Fishbein, H., Ritchey, P. N, Intergenerational transmission of prejudice, sex role stereotyping, and intolerance. Adolescence, V. 39, N. 155, pp. 407–426.

Challenges to Ending Discrimination Homo uality

Desexualize homoSEXuality Sexual orientation is a feeling Sexual behavior is an act

Desexualize homoSEXuality Teenage lesbians are twice as likely to become pregnant and are four times as likely to have multiple pregnancies.

We know that … We have a legal and moral obligation to protect our children.

Legal Considerations California Safety and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (AB537) 1. Added sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. 2. Specified deliberate indifference. 3. Removed the corporate shield.

Legal precedents Bob Jones University, Supreme Court, 1983 Tinker v. DesMoines, 1969 Nabozny v. Podlensy, 1996 Theno v. Tonganoxie School District, 2004 Ramirez v. LAUSD, 2004 Nguon v. Wolf, Garden Grove School District, 2005

Student rights Public display of affection Right to privacy Freedom of expression Protection from discrimination

So what do we do about it?

Do our job It is our job to make the campus safe for the students, not the students’ job to make the campus safe for us.

Replace labels with faces LGBT is not a sandwich

Advocate for them

Protect them

Treasure them

Accept them

Teach them

Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged

Judy Chiasson, Ph.D. Program Coordinator Office of Human Relations, Diversity and Equity

Citations Carter K. “Gay Slurs Abound,” in The Des Moines Register, March 7, 1997, p. 1. Garafalo, R., Wolf, C., Kessel, S., Palfrey, J. & DuRant, R (1998). The association between health risk behaviors and sexual orientation among a school-based sample of adolescents. Pediatrics, 101, GLSEN.Just the facts on gay, lesbian and bisexual youth in schools GLSEN/Detroit, Bruised Bodies, Bruised Spirits: An Assessment of the Current Climate of Safety for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth in Southeastern Michigan Schools, pp Hetrick E., and Martin A. D. “Developmental Issues and Their Resolution for Gay and Lesbian Adolescents” in Journal of Homosexuality, Human Rights Watch. (2001). Hatred in the hallways: Violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in U.S. schools. New York: Human Rights Watch. Journal Consulting Clinical Psychology, 1994, 62: Kosciw JG, Cullen MK. The School-Related Experiences of Our Nation's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth: The GLSEN 2001 National School Climate Survey. New York: GLSEN, Los Angeles County Human Relations Hate Crimes 2005: PFLAG National Schools Assessment, January 2005 Pittman KJ et al. Making sexuality education and prevention programs relevant for African American youth. J Sch Health 1992; 62: SIECEUS, 2001, Volume 29, #4 Saewyc, E., Bearinger, L., Blum, R., Resnick. M. (1999). Sexual intercourse, abuse and pregnancy among adolescent women: Does sexual orientation make a difference? Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 31, No. 3, p