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