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LGBT Youth in SchoolsLGBT Youth in Schools
ACSSW Conference
February 11, 2014
Elaine M. Maccio, Ph.D., LCSW
Louisiana State University
School of Social Work
Content• What does LGBT mean?
• Why is this important?
• Who are LGBT youth in schools?
• What are some common problems among LGBT youth?
• What resources are available for LGBT youth?
• What can school social workers do?
What does LGBT mean?• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
• Q = queer and/or questioning
• Lesbian and gay (homosexual, same-sex oriented)
• Bisexual
• Transgender/Gender queer– Transsexual– Androgynous
Why is this important?• LGBTQ youth comprise a substantial
portion of the school population.
• LGBTQ youth have unique needs.
• Few resources exist to meet their needs.
• LGBTQ youth are disproportionately the targets of bullies.
Who are LGBT youth?• Approximately 10% of youth in schools
identify as LGB, less than 1% as T
• Adding in questioning youth increases these figures
• 20-40% of homeless and runaway youth identify as LGBT
What are the problems?• LGBT youth are prone to substance use,
high-risk sexual behaviors, depression, and suicide.
• “72.4% [of LGBT students] heard homophobic remarks…frequently or often at school” 2
• “9 out of 10 LGBT [middle and high school] students experienced harassment at school in the past year” 2
2 Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
What are the problems?• “19.9% reported being bullied at school in
past 12 months; higher among females (21.2%) than males (18.7%)” 1
• “84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1%...physically harassed and 18.8%...physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation” 2
• 7.7% were “threatened or injured with a weapon” at school in previous 12 months 1
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention2 Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
What are the problems?• “17.5% reported carrying a weapon (gun,
knife or club) on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey” 1
• 29.1% of LGBT students missed a class at least once and 30.0% missed at least one day of school in the past month because of safety concerns, compared to only 8.0% and 6.7%, respectively, of a national sample of secondary school students. 2
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2 Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
What resources?• LGBT youth groups
• GSAs
• PFLAG
• GLSEN
• NCTE
• LTA (LA)
• School social workers!
What can I do?Support•Create a safe environment
•Facilitate a support group
•Start a GSA
•Establish a Safe Space program
What can I do?
Education•Educate faculty and staff on LGBT issues
•Develop lesson plans, activities, or other presentations for the student body
What can I do?Policy•Introduce policies around appropriate and inappropriate language and behavior
•Introduce consequences of violating language/behavior policies
•Support the local, state, and federal legislation, such as the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Nondiscrimination Act