Providing Support for Creating Safe School Environments
Published: October 18, 2011
School districts and County Offices of Education can take steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students who may be discriminated against on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Districts and COEs are responsible for providing a safe environment for all students in order to allow students to be free from distraction that could hinder their ability to learn and succeed in the classroom. District and COEs can create a safe environment for students and staff by ensuring that the following steps are taken:
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Set direction: Develop an understanding among the board, district/COE staff and the community regarding Education Code provisions about discrimination and how bullying and harassment can impact student achievement.
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Establish structure: Adopt and align policies to ensure student safety, including a policy on non-discrimination of students. A harassment policy that specifically includes sexual orientation and gender, including gender identity, appearance, and behavior has been shown to improve student perceptions of safety at school.
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Provide support: Ensure that all discussions take discrimination into account. For example, ensure that the district/COE explores how the implementation of gender-segregated activities can negatively impact students and considers the implications of facilities master planning on restroom access for gender nonconforming students.
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Ensure accountability: Monitor implementation of non-discrimination policies and ensure that reports are provided to the board by district/COE staff regarding student safety and wellbeing.
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Engage the community: Cultivate strong partnerships among the district/COE and parents to ensure that resources within the community are being tapped to provide students with peer support groups, information and support related to sexual orientation and gender identify, as well as training for faculty and staff to intervene when negative comments or slurs based on sexual orientation or gender non-conformity are heard.
The California Safe Schools Coalition has produced resources that provide additional information on this topic. Research briefs on Transgender Students and Gender Non-Conforming Students are available and a model policy regarding transgender and gender nonconforming students has been created. This policy can be used as an addendum to the district student non-discrimination policy.
For more information, see CSBA’s policy briefs: