NEWSTOLERANCE

The country's leading safe schools organization on Friday criticized a "neutrality" policy at Minnesota's largest school district that prevents faculty from addressing LGBT issues with students.

Policies like the "neutrality" policy at the Anoka-Hennepin School District "have a chilling effect on LGBT students," said Dr. Eliza Byard, Executive Director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network in an interview with Change.org.

"Research has shown that teachers in states that have anti-LGBT policies are less likely to respond to the harassment of LGBT students, and students are more likely to report hearing negative remarks," Byard said.

Controversy over the Minnesota district's rule instructing teachers and staff to take a "neutral" stance on matters of sexuality came to a head last week, when a federal lawsuit was filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Faegre & Benson, LLP.

On Monday night, a bullied former student and the mother of a suicide victim asked the largest school district in Minnesota to create a safer environment for students of all sexual orientations. With them in spirit were the more than 12,000 Change.org members who have signed the petition asking the Anoka-Hennepin school board to remove the district's "gag" policy which forbids teachers and staff from talking about LGBT issues with students.

As 2010 grad Justin Anderson, who went to Blaine High School in Anoka-Hennepin, and Tammy Aaberg, whose son Justin tragically died of suicide last summer due to anti-gay bullying, presented the print-out of all 12,000+ signatures on the Change.org petition to board members, they urged the board to come to their senses and create a safe educational environment for students.

It's coming down to the wire for students in Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District. As the debate around the current "neutrality" policy continues, local students, teachers and advocates are speaking out for its removal.

Over the past several weeks many of you have taken action at Change.org by asking the Ankoa-Hennepin school board to remove its so-called "neutrality" policy that currently keeps teachers from discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered students in the classroom. The "neutrality" policy also prevents teachers from truly creating an inclusive safe schools environment for all students and families by instituting a gag policy.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), in an op-ed for Minnesota Public Radio, argued that although the district has an anti-bullying policy, it will never truly address school bullying as long as it maintains a gag policy that basically tells teachers to keep quiet about anything relating to LGBT students.

Current and former students at Minnesota's largest school district have two big allies in their fight against bullying and harassment: the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The groups say Anoka-Hennepin School District's "neutrality" policy -- which bans any discussion of LGBT identity or issues by faculty and staff during class time -- is actually a "gag" order for teachers working to create a safe and welcoming environment for all students.

The two groups' May 24 letter to the Anoka-Hennepin School District demands that school district officials immediately repeal the "neutrality" policy. Show your support by signing the petition on Change.org, which tells the district: "Don’t wait for SPLC and NCLR to file a federal lawsuit or allow another day go by while students and families suffer. Make it a priority to create safe schools for all students in the Anoka-Hennepin School District now." It asks the district to respond by June 20.

You spoke up for equality, took action online and in New Mexico and were heard: Students at Clovis High School have won their fight to have a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) on campus!

In a letter dated May 4th,  the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico heard from Cuddy & McCarthy, LLP, the law firm representing the Clovis Municipal School District, saying that the superintendent had instructed Clovis High School's principal to allow the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) on campus as a non-curricular club.

“Please consider this letter as the “approval” you requested and permission for G/SA to immediately begin holding meetings after school at Clovis High School… Supt. Myers has directed the principal of Clovis High School to immediately contact the G/SA “applicants” and make arrangements for the G/SA to begin holding its meetings at the time and place requested in the application.”

This change is effective immediately, meaning that Clovis High School student Steven De Los Santos could begin to hold meetings as soon as Friday.

Texas high school student Bianca "Nikki" Peet is speaking out for inclusive safe schools once again, this time to help students at Clovis High School in New Mexico fight to have a Gay-Straight Alliance approved on campus.

Earlier this year, Nikki, a student at Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, was denied a request to start a GSA on her campus -- but in March, Nikki, along with the ACLU, the GSA at Texas A&M and the over 55,000 Change.org  supporters like you, won her fight to have the GSA approved.

Now, students at Clovis High School in New Mexico are facing a similar struggle, and Nikki Peet wants to help change that. She's now spearheading the Change.org petition backing the students and is asking for your support.

Last night, the Clovis, New Mexico school board voted unanimously to ban all extra-curricular clubs during school hours on campus. Students at Clovis High School attended the school board meeting in support of starting a local Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.

Clovis High School student Steven De Los Santos spoke at the Clovis School Board Meeting last night about why a  Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) was needed, saying that the club is important for the community.

The ban now removes all non-extracurricular clubs during the school day and limits some clubs if approved by school administrators to meet only before or after school if space is available.  This ban will affect clubs such as the Chess Club, Boy Scouts, DECA, Band and other groups that currently meet on campus.

A local school board in New Mexico could vote tonight to disallow all extra curricular clubs in the Clovis Municipal School District to avoid recognizing a request from a student at Clovis High School to form a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.

You may remember a story we told you about here at Change.org about Nikki Peet, a senior at Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, Texas who was was denied a request to start a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus. Nikki Peet, with the help of  local community supporters such as the GSA at Texas A&M and thousands of Change.org supporters like you was able to create a gay-straight alliance after all.

Now students at Clovis High School in New Mexico need your help.

Every morning across the country, Muslim students tell their parents they're scared to go to school -- because they'll be beaten and taunted for practicing Islam. Politicians flog fears of "the other" to drum up votes and campaign donations. Peaceful American citizens are branded as "terrorists" because of their skin color or their faith.

But on Friday, a student movement against blind Islamophobia scored a major victory -- UCLA's Islamic Studies program will re-open this fall after being frozen since 2007.

Last fall, students rallied, demonstrated, and attracted more than 5,400 signatures from the international Change.org community who called on the UCLA administration to bring back the program. These activists, led by student Ilona Gerbakher, argued that the fate of UCLA's program was a matter of national importance.  As we at Change.org blogged about - and publicized - their campaign, students kept the petition updated and finely-targeted, marshalling national support to show UCLA administrators that this was far larger than a campus issue.  

Tens of thousands of us spoke up for equality, and we were heard: Students in Corpus Christi, Texas have won their fight to have a Gay-Straight Alliance -- for now!

Late last night, school board members in Corpus Christi, Texas reversed their decision to deny high school senior Bianca "Nikki" Peet's request to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at her school. Nikki Peet can now start a GSA and meet on campus. The long-term future of the club is still not certain, however, so our support is still needed.

The Flour Bluff Independent School District's board of trustees held a four-hour emergency meeting last night at the administration building in Corpus Christi to talk about the legal consequences of denying a gay-straight alliance on campus. Their discriminatory decision to block a GSA had been threatened with litigation by American Civil Liberties Union and the Anti- Defamation League, and had become a national phenomenon: more than 55,000 supporters signed a petition at Change.org on behalf of Peet and supporters held an all-day rally last Friday at Flour Bluff High.