The report by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) -- Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the United States -- examines students' and teachers' experiences with biased remarks and bullying, and their attitudes about gender expression and family diversity.

"School climate and victimization can affect students' educational outcomes and personal development at every grade level," said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard.

"Name-calling and bullying in elementary schools reinforce gender stereotypes and negative attitudes toward people based on their gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion or family composition," reports Byard.

"Students and teachers report frequent use of disparaging remarks like 'retard' and 'that’s so gay,' and half of the teachers surveyed report bullying as a “serious problem” among their students.

"Students who do not conform to traditional gender norms are at higher risk for bullying, and are less likely than their peers to feel safe at school.

Key Findings from the report include:

• The most common forms of biased language in elementary schools, heard regularly by both students and teachers, are the use of the word "gay" in a negative way, such as "that's so gay," Many also report regularly hearing students make homophobic remarks, such as "fag" or "lesbo."
• Approximately 75 percent of students reported that students at their school are called names, made fun of or bullied with at least some regularity.
• Nearly 1 in 10 of elementary students in 3rd to 6th grade indicate that they do not always conform to traditional gender norms/roles - either they are boys who others sometimes think, act or look like a girl, or they are girls who others sometimes think, act or look like a boy.
• Gender nonconforming students are less likely than other students to feel very safe at school (42% vs 61%), and are more likely than others to indicate they sometimes do not want to go to school because they feel unsafe or afraid there.
• Only a third (34%) of teachers report having personally engaged in efforts to create a safe and supportive classroom environment for gender nonconforming students.
• While an overwhelming majority of elementary school teachers say that they include representations of different families when the topic of families comes up in their classrooms (89%), less than a quarter of teachers report any representation of lesbian, gay or bisexual parents (21%) or transgender parents (8%).
• Only a quarter (24%) of teachers report having personally engaged in efforts to create a safe and supportive classroom environment for families with LGBT parents.

"Over the past few years, there has been an increase in research on bullying in schools, including elementary schools," said GLSEN Senior Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives Dr. Joseph Kosciw.

"However, our report is one of the few that examines bias-based bullying at the elementary school level and the first to examine incidence of homophobic remarks and the negative experiences of children who do not conform to societal standards in their gender expression from a national vantage point," he said.

GLSEN also released Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit, an instructional resource developed to help educators address issues raised in Playgrounds and Prejudice, particularly teachers' willingness to address but lack of understanding of biased language, LGBT-inclusive family diversity and gender nonconformity.

The report was based on national surveys of 1,065 elementary school students in 3rd to 6th grade and 1,099 elementary school teachers of K-6th grade, and were conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of GLSEN during November and December 2010.

A copy of the complete Playgrounds and Prejudice report can be downloaded here (PDF).

Jennifer Keeton

Jennifer Keeton, 24, who was pursuing a master’s degree in counseling, said she was ordered to undergo a re-education plan that requires her to attend “diversity sensitivity training” when the school told her that her anti-gay beliefs are incompatible with the standards of her desired profession.

Keeton sued the University in July 2010, claiming that faculty and university staff had violated her rights to free speech and the free exercise of her Christian faith when it told her that, in order to stay in the program, she would have to change her beliefs about homosexuality, which Keeton cited as "immoral, unnatural, and a 'lifestyle choice' that can be reversed through “conversion therapy.”

According to the lawsuit, faculty members allegedly assailed Keeton’s beliefs as “inconsistent with the counseling profession” and “expressed suspicion over ‘Jen’s ability to be a multi-culturally competent counselor, particularly with regard to working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning populations.’”

In supporting Augusta State in its actions, the U. S. District Court judge wrote, “The record suggests, and the testimony at the hearing bolsters, the Plan was imposed because Plaintiff exhibited an inability to counsel in a professionally ethical manner — that is, an inability to resist imposing her moral viewpoint on counselees – in violation of the ACA Code of Ethics.”

In its ruling on Friday, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit agreed with the district court judge, ruling that because Keeton was unlikely to prevail in her lawsuit, a court order for her preventing expulsion was unwarranted.

The court noted that the requirements of the counseling program—needed for its continued accreditation and compliance with the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics—are similar to the rules for judges, who must apply laws even if they consider them erroneous.

“In seeking to evade the curricular requirement that she not impose her moral values on clients,” the appellate court wrote, “Keeton is looking for preferential, not equal, treatment.”

Augusta State University spokeswoman Kathy Schofe told LGBTQ Nation last month that the university had tried to work with Keeton, suggesting she take diversity sensitivity workshops and attend the local Augusta LGBTQ Pride parade, but Keeton refused and declined to participate claiming the university’s “demands” violated her First Amendment rights.

One Colorado, a statewide LGBT advocacy group, has launched a new program to facilitate the creation of gay-straight alliances in Colorado schools and secure safe school environments for all students.

A comprehensive website with resources for students, parents, teachers and school administrators -- Colorado GSA Network -- is a focal point for the Colorado Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

“More than any other group, LGBT students are the repeated targets of bullying, harassment and even violence in our schools,” said Brad Clark, executive director of One Colorado. “The Colorado GSA Network will combat bullying and harassment against LGBT young people by bringing students together, providing them with tools, and empowering them to start and grow Gay-Straight Alliances in their schools.”

For Daniel Ramos, program manager for the GSA network, the purpose of this program is to help students organize.

“We hear all the time that students feel they are the only ones doing this work,” he said. “We want to develop a new generation of young leaders who will share skills with each other. It’s a student-driven program.”

The GSA Network not only focuses on developing gay-straight alliances in their schools, but also trains youth to advocate for safe school policies.

Resources available on the website include a guide detailing how to combat bullying, a handbook explaining how to start a GSA, and a guide to initiating programming to build an effective organization through activities such as team building. Links to Colorado and national resources are provided, some of which are directed to students, while others are aimed at educators and administrators.
The website also includes a comprehensive list of every GSA in Colorado by school.

Denver’s Mayor Michael Hancock, along with Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, and other community leaders, are shown in a video for the “Make it better” campaign.

“Research shows that gay-straight alliances make schools safer for LGBT young people by providing a safe space for students to be themselves and alleviating the isolation that LGBT youth often experience,” said Ramos.

“It is critical that we address the pervasive problem of bullying against Colorado’s most vulnerable young people,” he said.

The program launched a few months ago in schools in Grand Junction, Buena Vista, Colorado Springs and other spots with interest from local school officials. “We’ve seen a positive reception from teachers, administrators and parents who are committed to seeing LGBT students, and those perceived to be LGBT, safe in their schools,” Ramos said.

Not all the activity will be online. Student Lobby Day, which will send students to the state Capitol to lobby legislators while they are in session, is set for Feb. 27, 2012. A statewide leadership summit is also in the works, as is a student leadership council to voice student concerns.

Applications for the leadership council are available on the website.

One Colorado’s GSA Network is similar to another online LGBT youth resource, Matthew’s Place, a website run by the Matthew Shepard Foundation. While the GSA Network focuses on organizing students within Colorado to combat bullying, Matthew’s Place is more broadly based geographically and offers support on a variety of LGBT issues.

KARE-TV

Audience member at Anoka-Hennepin School Board meeting.

Advocates and allies of LGBTQ students objected saying that the policy does not specify what those "controversial topics" are.

Tammy Aaberg, whose son Justin was one of nearly a dozen Anoka-Hennepin students who committed suicide after anti-gay bullying since the 2009 school year, wasn't happy about calling the policy "controversial."

In a statement she read before the board, Aaberg told officials, "I read the policy and my heart started breaking all over again. Because now we're going from neutral on sexual orientation to labeling LBGT kids as controversial."

Others seemed confused about what can or cannot be discussed in the classroom, which is why they urged the board to clarify the proposed policy before voting on it next month.

Opponents of any changes to the current policy also voiced their concerns, one woman telling the board, "We were a model for the nation at protecting kids from homosexual propaganda. The sexual orientation curriculum policy is an excellent policy."

The board seemed cautiously optimistic that it was taking a proper course of action.

Board member Scott Wenzel told those in attendance, "Am I totally happy with it, absolutely not but I think we're moving forward to satisfy and clear up some misunderstandings in our school district and create a safer school for our students."

The board read through the policy Monday night, and will read through it one more time before they make a final decision in January.

"[The police] shared some information with us, and we followed up," Superintendent Scott Martzloff said. "We made the determination to take disciplinary action."

Jamey Rodemeyer

He declined to say how many students were suspended. Though based on Amherst police findings, it's likely that several of Jamey's classmates were sanctioned.

Regarding the severity of punishments these students received, Martzloff said only that the students face "a minimum of suspensions." That implies at least short-term suspensions of up to five days, with the possibility of long-term suspensions subject to a hearing. Expulsion is not an option for students of this age.

Martzloff said that after following up on the police findings, the district issued the student sanctions Wednesday.

"We want to thank the Amherst Police Department for their thorough investigation," he said, "and our condolences continue to go out to the Rodemeyer family."

Although the Williamsville Central School District has received a lot of attention because Jamey was a North High freshman at the time of his death, police, school and legal officials have said the reasons behind Jamey's suicide appear far broader than just bullying by classmates.

Jamey had also blogged about experiencing a variety of personal problems in his life outside of school in the weeks leading up to his death.

Police Chief John C. Askey had previously stated that his department's investigation turned up five incidents of alleged bullying at Williamsville North involving Jamey. The freshman killed himself Sept. 18 after complaining in online videos and posts about being bullied over his sexual orientation.

Askey said none of the incidents at North High were brought to the school's attention or Jamey's parents' attention until after Jamey had died and police began investigating.

The district based its disciplinary actions on the Amherst Police Department's incident findings, previously reported by The Buffalo News. Among them:

• A witness said one female classmate who had known Jamey since middle school told Jamey something along the lines of, "Faggot, why don't you just kill yourself?" This student's family hired a lawyer shortly after she began being questioned by police.
• In a separate incident, the same student later told Jamey something like, "You're a faggot."
• Another identified student pushed Jamey as he passed him in the hallway and called him a fag.
• Yet another identified student made "an inappropriate comment" to Jamey regarding his sexual orientation, Askey said.

Jamey had previously reported in his blog that a group of North classmates had spit on a plate of brownies and given them to him in the cafeteria. Askey said investigators found no witnesses who actually saw any brownies being spit on.

The disciplinary actions taken last week are not the first the Williamsville school district has meted out in relation to Jamey's case.

In September, a female student was suspended for telling friends of Jamey's sister, Alyssa, at an outdoor homecoming dance that she was glad Jamey was dead. The same student was referenced in at least two of the bullying incidents involving Jamey that police investigated.

Mark Dayton

"The time has long since passed to step up and say, 'Enough, this does not have to be this way,'" Dayton said at a news conference Tuesday at the state capitol.

The Governor added that he wants to see "a Minnesota where every child can go to school and know it's a place where they are valued, loved, where school is for learning and creating your future."

According to a 2011 study by the state's Departments of Health and Education, bullying is a problem that affects more than 100,000 students a week.

The governor laid out his plans for a 15-member panel that is slated to include the state's commissioners of education, human rights and public safety; four legislators from both parties, and eight others with expertise in pediatrics, adolescent mental health, the juvenile judicial system, and education. The working group will report back to the governor's office, the Legislature and the public by the first of August 2012.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that Dayton's executive order is the second official call to action on bullying in the past week:

Wednesday, Attorney General Lori Swanson proposed legislation to require school districts to respond to bullying reports within 24 hours. The bill also would require districts to create policies for reporting and documenting incidents, plans to protect students who are subject to bullying and those who report it. It was modeled after a law that drew bipartisan support this year in North Dakota.

Dayton noted that the task force had been in the works for some time but said he hoped Swanson's proposal would complement its work. In addition to studying current research, members will look at other states' laws and school policies, and interview experts, as well as educators, students and their families in hearings held statewide.

Dayton was joined by Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius, Public Safety Commissioner Mona Doman, Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey and Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Jim Davnie, both Minneapolis DFLers. He also was joined by Tammy Aaberg, an anti-bullying activist whose son Justin committed suicide in 2010.

Minnesota currently has the shortest anti-bullying law in the nation, at only 37 words, and requires only that districts have written policies in place prohibiting all forms of intimidation and bullying.

The law earned a C-minus grade from the watchdog group BullyPolice USA, the lowest grade of the 47 states that have anti-bullying laws.

"I want to have the A-plus-plus law, not the C-minus law," said Dayton.

The House bill requires all school districts have an anti-bullying policy – policies that must be reported to the Michigan Department of Education. The education department would then need to report to the Legislature on the status of the implementation of the policies. But House Democrats said more reporting is needed to determine if the policies are working.

Michigan lawmakers faced national criticism when the Senate passed its version of the bill on Nov. 2 that contained controversial language inserted by Senate Republicans that allowed for exceptions to the law for “a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.”

Critics blasted the original Senate bill, calling it a "license to bully."

The House version was intended as a compromise, although House Democrats said the bill — even though it received bipartisan support — does not go far enough.

The Senate's passage of the House version was met with mixed response.

“We’re thrilled that we were able to eliminate the destructive ‘license to bully’ that the Senate first approved in October. National outrage provoked by the last-minute substitution to allow bullying based on religious beliefs is a clear indicator that our Senate majority is out of touch with the voters.” said Emily Dievendorf, Director of Policy for Equality Michigan.

“That being said, we’re disappointed by the weak version of the bill passed today. Directed by the biases of a few, our Senate missed another opportunity to do right by our kids. Today’s bill will do little to stem the tide of bullying because it doesn’t enumerate commonly targeted characteristics.

Case studies have found that school employees are unlikely to recognize and report incidents when bias bullying is not placed deliberately on their radar. Both Oregon and Washington passed weak bills like this one and had to go back and revise them years later when data showed the initial bills had failed. This kind of delay is not an acceptable response to Michigan's bullying crisis.” Dievendorf added.

The bill, HB 4163, was passed in the House on Nov. 10 by a vote of 88-18, and in the Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 35-2.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is reported to be "very likely" to sign the legislation.

Jennifer Keeton

Jennifer Keeton, 24, who is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling, said she was ordered to undergo a re-education plan that requires her to attend “diversity sensitivity training” when the school told her that her anti-gay beliefs are incompatible with the standards of her desired profession.

Keeton had said in and out class that, according to her Christian beliefs, homosexuality is immoral and a lifestyle choice.

Keeton is represented by the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom, which contends that "A public university student shouldn’t be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith."

"But that’s exactly what’s happening here," said David French, senior counsel for the defense fund, in a statement. "Abandoning one’s own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree."

According to the lawsuit filed in July 2010, faculty members allegedly assailed Keeton’s beliefs as "inconsistent with the counseling profession" and "expressed suspicion over 'Jen’s ability to be a multi-culturally competent counselor, particularly with regard to working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (GLBTQ) populations.'"

The university maintained that it must hold its counseling graduate students “to the core principles of the American Counseling Association and the American School Counselor Association, which defines the roles and responsibilities of professional counselors in its code of ethics.

The code is included in the curriculum of the counseling education program, which states that counselors in training have the same responsibility as professional counselors to understand and follow the ACA Code of Ethics. The faculty identifies Keeton’s views as indicative of her "improper professional disposition to persons of such populations.”

Augusta State University spokeswoman Kathy Schofe told LGBTQ Nation that the university had tried to work with Keeton, suggesting she take diversity sensitivity workshops and attend the local Augusta LGBTQ Pride parade, but Keeton refused and declined to participate claiming the university's "demands" violated her First Amendment rights.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Keeton has already been rebuffed by the courts. Earlier this year, a U.S. district judge ruled in the university’s favor.

In supporting Augusta State in its actions, the judge wrote, “The record suggests, and the testimony at the hearing bolsters, the Plan was imposed because Plaintiff exhibited an inability to counsel in a professionally ethical manner -- that is, an inability to resist imposing her moral viewpoint on counselees – in violation of the ACA Code of Ethics.”

A classmate testified that Keeton said she would be compelled by her beliefs to tell gay or lesbian counseling clients that their behaviors were morally wrong and must be changed.

In the first proposal, opponents are trying to alter the law so that California school students don't have to learn about LGBT Americans' historical contributions.

Anti-gay activists are also proposing a second initiative that would allow parents to opt their children out of school instruction in social science and family life that conflicts with their moral convictions. Parents can already opt their children out of health lessons.

The proposals, received by the state attorney general's office November 16, come at a time when Equality California, a key SB 48 sponsor, has been weakened by leadership and financial troubles, and appears unprepared to protect the legislation.

The new law is set to take effect January 1.

Among other provisions, the repeal proposal would strike LGBTs from the list of groups that students would have to receive social science instruction on.

A previous attempt to repeal SB 48 altogether through a referendum recently failed, but that move's supporters have claimed they came close to gathering the almost 505,000 signatures they needed to get their proposal before voters in 2012. It is not known if that figure is accurate.

EQCA spokeswoman Rebekah Orr said the new campaign "is likely to be an even uglier effort than their previous one."

"It's very specifically targeted at LGBT people. It makes extremely clear what their motivations are," Orr said.

Richard Rios, the chair of the Christian Coalition of California, submitted the two anti-gay proposals. In an interview, he said, "It's not a homophobic issue. It's an issue of the requirement of the teaching of something that's contradictory to one's faith."

Asked about how teaching the historical contributions of someone like slain gay icon Harvey Milk would contradict someone's religious beliefs, Rios invoked same-sex relationships. He said that in his upbringing, he learned that any relationship other than that between a man and a woman "is not a godly relationship."

In San Francisco and other places, children are already taught about LGBT-headed families. Rios couldn't name anyone who's been harmed by such curriculum.

Signatures soon

Once the attorney general's office issues titles and summaries for SB 48 repeal and the opt-out proposal, they will go to the secretary of state's office for approval. After the proposals clear that agency, proponents will have 150 days to gather the 504,760 valid signatures they need for each to get on the November 2012 ballot.

Rios said the committees behind the ballot proposals, on which he sits – the Committee to Repeal SB 48 and the Committee for Parental Rights in Education – have just started raising money. He said they have about 400 distribution centers committed to their effort, for activities such as distributing petitions, but he wouldn't share any details, such as where they are.

He also wouldn't say much about their fundraising plans. However, he said, "We've got commitments in the six figures right now." Rios estimated each campaign around the proposals he submitted would cost about $13 million to win approval from voters in November.

Openly gay Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) authored SB 48, which Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed into law in July. Anti-gay activists then quickly launched the failed referendum campaign.

Karen England of the Capitol Resource Institute was one of the main people behind that effort. Rios noted she and others could still launch another campaign. England didn't respond to an interview request.

Rios said England had come close to success to qualifying the referendum, and he expressed confidence in the future of his proposals. He cited the number of signatures England and others claim to have gathered through volunteers in the short time frame with which they had to work.

Rios said those backing the new proposals would start with a "volunteer distribution chain and other channels that we have." He said they might hire paid signature gatherers.

Leno said in an interview this week that the proposed ballot initiatives are "real threats, and we need to take them seriously." He said the efforts "will be anything but grassroots-driven. ... This will be paid for by the very deep pockets of far right extremists."

"We need to monitor the progress of the signature gathering, and at a certain point decisions need to be made regarding investments in a decline to sign campaign," he added.

Leno reacted to the notion that parents should be able to opt their children out of instructions due to conflicts with their religious beliefs by saying, "The very same arguments were made when black studies and women's studies were first proposed."

EQCA's problems

Since Brown signed SB 48 into law in July, EQCA's problems have mounted.

In October, Executive Director Roland Palencia resigned, just three months after he started the job. The organization hasn't replaced him with an interim director, although consultant Joan Garry, the former executive director of the national Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is starting to help EQCA sift through its affairs.

In recent years, the organization has bled hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it appears to have no specific plans on how to staunch the cash flow.

Asked about the impact the latest repeal effort would have on EQCA given those circumstances, Orr said, "I think it's an opportunity, an opportunity for our movement to focus and to reengage. We're certainly prepared to play a leadership role in that, as we always have."

Orr said the coalition of groups that came together to work against the SB 48 referendum has continued to meet and remains "committed to protecting and defending the law," but she couldn't offer specific plans.

She also said that factors such as anti-gay activists hiring signature gatherers would affect their plans.

She and Palencia previously refused to say how much money had been gathered to fight SB 48 repeal.

Orr estimated last week that if the new repeal proposal makes it to the ballot, fighting it could cost a total of at least $35 million.

GSA Network was another SB 48 co-sponsor. Interim Executive Director Laura Valdez didn't respond to interview requests for this story.

Pat Lynch

Pat Lynch, who had been head football coach at Buffalo High School for 13 years and had led the team to two state football championships, resigned from that position earlier this week, but the school board has allowed him to retain his position as a guidance counselor at the high school under administrative supervision, reported the Casper Star-Tribune.

In the aftermath, Johnson County School District 1 superintendent Dr. Rod Kessler was supportive of Lynch and the efforts to repair his reputation.

“[Lynch] screwed up, he screwed up big time,” Kessler said.

“The coaching, we didn’t want that to be the issue anymore. We wanted him to have his priority back where it was as a counselor.

“None of us are happy that it happened. It’s a black eye to the district. And it’s a black eye to Pat.”

[...]

The board did, however, allow Lynch to continue in his position of guidance counselor at Buffalo High School, under administrative supervision.

“We’re going to work with Pat and have him continue doing the good things he was doing prior to this mistake,” Kessler said. “Our hope is that we can mend things we need to mend and gain back the trust and get the reputation that he needs to gain back as a professional.”

Casper Star-Tribune

The superintendent said the intent Lynch had for the survey is not being revealed publicly, but that his "personal opinion was the intent wasn’t to harm. It was probably to be a joke or something like that."

The community's response to the school board's action has been mixed, including some public outcry over Lynch being retained in the role of a counselor.

On parent said Lynch should have apologized to the players — not the school board.

The "Hurt Feelings" survey is here -- click to enlarge:

A spokesperson for Equality Utah said their organization had received a complaint from a female high school student in Sevier County, Utah, and advised her to contact her the ACLU for assistance.

In a letter dated Monday, ACLU of Utah's Interim Legal Director Joseph Cohn wrote:

Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah Foundation, Inc. (“ACLU”) received information that a student was asked to leave her school’s homecoming dance because she was there with a female date.

I am writing to you now because any rule, policy, or practice that forbids students from attending school dances with same-sex dates is unconstitutional, and must cease or be rescinded immediately. It is my sincere hope that by addressing this issue now, we will be able to avoid costly litigation should we learn of any future instances of LGBT students being turned away from school functions.

It is in this spirit of cooperation that I urge you to contact each of the school principals in your district to inform them that policies of LGBT exclusion must be abandoned immediately.

Cohn's letter goes on to point out that two federal court cases have evaluated the constitutionality of a public school’s ban on same-sex couples at prom.

In the first case, Fricke v. Lynch in 1980, the school's principal testified that the policy was based on concern for possible disruption and violence at the prom in reaction to the participation of a gay couple.

The Court ruled that the Constitution required the school to take steps to protect the couple’s free expression rather than to stifle it.

Nearly twenty years later, a public high school in Mississippi cancelled the prom rather than allow a student to bring a same-sex date.

In the highly publicized case that resulted, McMillen v. Itawamba County School District, a federal court in Mississippi ultimately determined that school policy that ban same-sex prom dates violated the right to free expression guaranteed by the First Amendment.

In addition to violating free speech rights, the ACLU maintains a policy prohibiting same-sex couples from attending prom or school dances violates the equal protection provisions of the constitution as well.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that policies by public entities (like public schools) that are based upon animosity or prejudice towards gay people violates a commitment to equal rights guaranteed to all Americans by the Fourteenth Amendment.

"As we have worked closely with school districts across the state to protect the rights of students to form Gay Straight Alliances and exercise free speech, the ACLU of Utah looks forward to working with Utah’s district superintendents and school principals to ensure the constitutional right of all students, regardless of sexual orientation, to attend school proms, dances and other functions," said ACLU Utah, in a statement.

The state Department of Education will consider the 75-page student conduct and disciplinary policy on Dec. 14, and if approved, the changes that acknowledge the targeting of LGBT students would go into effect July 1, 2012.

The draft policy lists 12 possible reasons a child could be bullied. They include race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, national origin, socioeconomic status, academic status, physical appearance, mental, physical or developmental disability, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation.

Under the proposal, bullying for the specified reasons or any "other characteristic" would be a Level 3 disciplinary offense. Punishments range from as little as before- or after-school detention or a one-day removal from the classroom to weekend detention or suspension for up to 10 days.

The policy also extends beyond school property to the virtual world, holding students accountable for "vulgar or offensive speech" online if it disrupts the learning atmosphere at school.

"This includes blogs and social media postings created for the purpose of inviting others to indulge in disruptive and hateful conduct towards a student or staff member," the policy says.

Associated Press, via ABC News

The civil rights group Fairness West Virginia praised the new language as "a landmark achievement," and said the policy effectively provides political and legal cover to teachers and others who might hesitate to help a student.

But the West Virginia Family Foundation said the proposal is a "well thought-out, well-crafted design, done for no other reason than to promote the homosexual agenda."

"They're trying to force a lifestyle that a majority of the people of West Virginia do not want their kids exposed to. It undermines their values and their religious teaching," President Kevin McCoy said Monday.

Last week, the Michigan state Senate passed an anti-bullying bill that contained an exception to the law for “a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."

Manuel Rodriguez Jr.

The Chronicle had endorsed Manuel Rodriguez Jr. for another term on the board of the Houston Independent School District but decided to reconsider its position when the candidate's campaign released a flyer urging recipients not just to vote for Rodriguez, but to vote against his opponent, Ramiro Fonseca, because he has been endorsed by the Houston GLBT Caucus.

The flyer stated, "Ramiro Fonseca has spent years advocating for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender rights ... not kids," and ends with a pair of bullet points noting that "Fonseca is 54 years old with no children and has a male partner."

"That's obvious gay-bashing, of the kind that HISD rightly prohibits on the playground. It has no place on HISD's board," the Chronicle wrote.

Advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights is advocating for kids. GLBT kids are among those who most need adult protection and support.

As Noel Freeman, president of the Houston GLBT Caucus notes, "GLBT youth are 12 times more likely to be bullied in schools, five times more likely to commit suicide and eight times more likely to be homeless. It is imperative that we provide a safe, welcoming environment in our schools."

With his hateful flier, Rodriguez perpetuates the kind of stereotypes that put our kids in danger. And he implies that all right-thinking people agree with him - an insult to his constituents, and precisely the kind of blithe, old-school homophobia that makes school hallways so treacherous.

Members of the school board are supposed to be role models, not bullies. They're supposed to support civil rights, not fight against them. They're supposed to fight hate speech, not commit it.

It's important to stand up to bullying, intolerant behavior, whether on the playground or at the ballot box.

Houston Chronicle

The campaign for Rodriquez has not responded to e-mail inquiries by LGBTQ Nation for their comment on the Chronicle's editorial.

The critically acclaimed play, “Almost, Maine,” written by playwright John Cariani, depicts characters falling in and out of love through a series of vignettes.

In "They Fell," the scene at issue, two young men, who are longtime friends, compare notes about disastrous dates with women and come to realize that they are attracted to each other. The two make no physical contact and use no graphic language.

According to the students, the production was approaching final rehearsals when the faculty adviser at Bel Air High School took the play to the administration asking that the particular scene be reviewed for "appropriateness."

When the school's administrators told the drama club to cut that scene, they immediately took the decision to the American Civil Liberties Union and petitioned ACLU officials for their assistance.

"Cutting the scene was definitely censorship, it repressed creativity," Junior Julia Streett, president of the Bel Air High School's Gay Straight Alliance, and who is involved with the show's production, told The Baltimore Sun on Friday.

Deborah A. Jeon, ACLU Maryland's legal director, wrote school officials Wednesday demanding that the scene be restored to the production. Jeon cautioned them their decision violated the students' right to free speech.

"It is the only portrayal of same-sex love in the play; it is also the only portion of the play the drama club was required to remove. The decision to censor the play to eliminate representation of same-sex love and gay identity is unlawful and we demand that the decision be reversed," she wrote.

The Hartford County Maryland School Board reversed the decision Friday, and the play will open on schedule Nov. 10.

“I'm glad the school board has come to a reasonable decision and that we get to perform the play as it was intended to be," said Streett, reacting to the decision. "There didn’t need to be a big and crazy controversy, since portrayal of a same-sex relationship is a part of life and no one should be discriminated against just because of their sexual orientation."

LEXINGTON, Tenn. -- The parent of an 11th grade Lexington High School student said her son, Kasey Landrum, 16, was issued an in-school suspension after he was caught wearing makeup 10 minutes after school ended.

"The principal walked into the school and immediately started yelling at me and told me to get outside," said Landrum. He said he did exactly as Lexington High School Principal Steve Lindsey instructed without a reply. He said another student who witnessed the incident told the principal Landrum was simply expressing himself by wearing the makeup.

Kasey Landrum

Landrum said the principal and student exchanged words which would later lead to her being issued a one day in-school suspension. The next day Landrum said he was called to the office and issued a three day in-school suspension.

"I'm very upset about it because he can't be who he wants to be," said Shelly Maness, Kasey Landrum's mother. "When I went to register him, about the make-up, he (Lindsey) reminded us Kasey was not to be wearing any," she adds.

The suspension form obtained by Maness cited her son was suspended on the basis he violated the school's dress code which states: "When a student is attired in a manner, which is likely to cause disruption or interference with normal operation of the school, the administration will take the appropriate action. In matters of opinion, the judgment of the teachers and administrators will prevail."

"I don't know what kind of disruption it may have cause or may not have caused," said Henderson County Superintendent Steve Wilkinson. Superintendent Wilkinson said the principal has the authority to determine what is deemed a distraction.

Landrum said this was the second time he has been reprimanded for wearing makeup. "We went to a football game... we were told to leave," he said. He said the day he was reprimanded another student with what he calls a "punk rock" style wore makeup, but was not punished. "He had it on all day, so I was like if he can do it so can I."

When asked whether he knew of any cases where students were distracted, Landrum said there were no incidents which were caused as a result of him wearing makeup and said overall the students and teachers have been very supportive of him.

"I'm proud of myself for being as comfortable as I am, but sometimes I wish I was straight," he said. He said the emotional impact of not being able to express himself has led to depression which has caused him to miss days from school.

"I'm proud of my son, gay or straight or whatever. I want him to feel the same way," said Maness. Superintendent Wilkinson said Maness has the right to appeal her son's suspension.

Following is a video report from WBBJ-TV: