School Boards’ Role in Your Rights
School boards can be places where positive change is made. Boards are made of real people, and people are unique and complex. Many school board members may be LGBTQ+ themselves, or consider themselves allies. Some board members may support the LGBTQ+ community personally and privately, but end up making harmful policy decisions or staying silent on harmful issues because they don’t want to cause a fuss. Some school boards even enact very positive and forward-thinking rules and policies, even against the loud and angry voices of some parents, because they want to support and protect young people of all backgrounds.
Two school districts in Delaware, Red Clay Consolidated School District and Christina School District, recently adopted very positive policies regarding transgender and gender diverse students. Want to learn a little bit more? Why not take a look at the school board records at the websites below?
Christina School District, January 12, 2021
Red Clay Consolidated School District, December 15, 2021
These are just two examples of positive policy enacted by school boards. If you think your local school board should do something similar, use those First Amendment rights!
Browse the Guide Below
Know Your Rights: A Guide to the First Amendment for LGBTQ+ Youth in Delaware, is packed with information related to students’ rights around LGBTQ+ expression in schools. Click through the links below to read our full guide!
⬆️ A digestible outline of the First Amendment and how it applies to LGBTQ+ students’ expression in schools.
⬆️ Language and definitions that are commonly used in conversations about LGBTQ+ communities and issues.
LGBTQ+ Students: Know Your Rights!
⬆️ A full list of rights that LGBTQ+ people are promised in schools - regardless of individual school policies.
How Can You Make a Difference?
⬆️ A list of ways that students can use the First Amendment to express themselves in schools.
The School Board’s Role in Your Rights
⬆️ Information about the role that school boards play in policy-making for schools, and how students can make their voices heard even if they can’t vote.
⬆️ A list of resources for LGBTQ+ students in Delaware.