Books and Videos on School Issues

Dealing with Legal Matters Surrounding Students’ Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity [PDF]
National School Boards Association, Alexandria, Va., 2004
Topics covered in this report include student organizations and clubs, student dress code, curriculum, student involvement in school events, and harassment of LGBT students.
 

Going Beyond Gay-Straight Alliances to Make Schools Safe for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students [PDF]
Pat Griffin and Mathew Ouellett, Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies, 2002
A report by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) on the benefits of gay-straight alliances in schools. 

A Guide to Effective Statewide Laws/Policies: Preventing Discrimination Against LGBT Students in K-12 Schools [PDF]
Lambda Legal and GLSEN, 2002
A manual that helps activists protect students from violence and harassment in schools. Lambda Legal collaborated with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)on this project. A Guide to Effective Statewide Laws/Policies: Preventing Discrimination Against LGBT Students in K-12 Schools is available for download in PDF format.

That's a Family!
Debra Chasnoff, Director, Women's Educational Media, 2000
A film for children in grades K-6 that takes a tour from a child's perspective through a range of family structures, including those with gay and lesbian parents, multiracial parents, divorced parents and single parents or guardians. "That's A Family!" was directed by Academy Award-winner Debra Chasnoff, who also directed the acclaimed film, "It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues In School." The video is distributed with a curriculum and discussion guide that offers teachers and counselors suggestions for classroom activities. For more information, contact Groundspark (previously Women's Educational Media).

Back to School Kit
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, 2000
The Back to School Kit contains action Steps and resources for securing civil rights and improving the climate at schools, with highlights of students and teachers involved in Lambda's school work.

Gay Parents, Straight Schools: Building Communication and Trust
Virginia Casper, Steven B. Schultz, Teachers College Pr., 1999
A guide for gay and lesbian parents navigating the straight school systems.

Queering Elementary Education
William Letts and James Sears, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, 1999
A series of essays that advocate the creation of classrooms that challenge categorical thinking, promote interpersonal intelligence, foster critical consciousness and advocate the development of a curriculum that affords every child dignity rooted in self-worth and esteem for others.

Understanding Homosexuality, Changing Schools
Arthur Lipkin, Westview Press, 1998
Designed to help teachers, administrators, counselors and policymakers understand the significance of gay and lesbian issues in education; to aid communication between gay/lesbian students and their families and schools; to facilitate the integration of gay and lesbian families into the school community; and to promote the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the curriculum.

Telling Tales Out of School
Kevin Jennings, Alyson Publications, 1998
Over 30 essays by gay, lesbian people who look back at their school days and reflect on their attempts to unlearn negative attitudes that were part of their school experience.

School Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Youth: The Invisible Minority
Mary B. Harris, Haworth Press, 1998
Many essays exploring the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Authors explain how to meet those needs of LGBT students and examine the consequences of failing to do so.

Gay and Lesbian Educators: Personal Freedoms, Public Constraints
Karen M. Harbeck, Amethyst Press and Productions, 1997
A look at the historical dimensions of statewide initiatives to discriminate against gays in relation to the teaching profession and community moral standards. Topics include profiles of students and educators who confronted the constraints on their personal freedoms through activism or legal recourses.

School's Out: The Impact of Gay and Lesbian Issues on America's Schools
Dan Woog, Alyson Publications, 1995
The true stories of dozens of gay and lesbian educators and students, and their straight allies. Nearly 300 people are interviewed in this exploration of the current impact of gay and lesbian issues and people on the U.S. educational system.

Becoming Visible
Kevin Jennings (Ed.), Alyson Publications, 1994
Covering a wide range of cultures over two thousand years, this history reader brings gay men and lesbians out of hiding and into the classroom.