LGBTQ Student Discipline

Discipline. According to Dr. Joseph Kosciw, GLSEN’s Chief Research & Strategy Officer (2016), “It is abundantly clear that LGBTQ students face disproportionately high levels of school discipline due to hostile school climates that ultimately deprive many of them, not only of their education, but also the success in life that education affords. Given the findings of Educational Exclusion, we must redouble our efforts to create supportive schools for LGBTQ students, particularly transgender and gender nonconforming students, students experiencing homelessness, students with disabilities and students of color.” He added, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students face high rates of school discipline, including detention, suspension

Most of the principles of the schools are affected by the regulations and principles of the state. In America, according to Norwandle Zondi (2017), “Louisiana is one of eight states that prohibit teachers and others from saying anything affirming about LGBT students or that require negative depictions.” She affirmed that another two states, Missouri and South Dakota, openly prohibit naming LGBT youth as a group even though it should be protected by the law. North Carolina, in opposition to the “gender equality” rights movement, just adopted a law that eliminated local protections for gay and transgender people. This prohibits them from using public bathrooms that do not match the sex on their birth certificates. The result of this is that the state is now facing the loss of billions in federal aid for schools, highways and housing. Louisiana’s law prohibits teachers from using any “sexually explicit materials depicting male or female homosexual activity,” a narrower prohibition than some of the other laws governing schools but one that causes confusion and fear among the state’s teachers

Harbin (2016) stated that in recent years, students on campuses across the country have become extremely vocal in fighting against affirmative thinking with respect to gender identity and expression. In an editorial that appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Schmalz (2015) interviewed a dozen students who self-identified as gender non-conforming. Several students disclosed their fear and anxiety of being misgendered by professors. They described their anxiety about being “outed” by professors in their classes and being forced to “come out” every semester. One student shared, “Every day it’s scary to just be in class, not knowing what people are going to say” (Schmalz 2015). Another student explained: “When my professors don’t notice that I have a preferred name listed in the university registry, it can be very anxiety-inducing to wonder, “Oh, what’s going to happen on that first day of class when I’m outed? What are other students going to say? What is the teacher going to say?” (Schmalz 2015). Increased awareness about the complexities of gender identity and expression has given rise to queries regarding the best answers and practices for promoting gender inclusivity and acceptance on campuses across the nation. From debates about the appropriate policy regarding student name changes to awareness campaigns about pronoun usages, university administrators, professors, and students are collectively forging toward a more