The time has come to shore up educational environments as places of support, safety, and affirmation for LGBTQ+ students, particularly trans-identifying youth, according to a statement co-written by educational scholars, co-signed by educators across the field from preschool to postsecondary, under the organization titled Support LGBTQ Education.
The statement encourages improvement of working conditions for educators to combat the teacher shortage and a commitment to keeping public educational spaces public, including schools, libraries and community centers. Access to information should not “depend on the money you make,” said Dr. D-L Stewart, professor of higher education at the University of Denver and one of the co-authors of the statement.
The onus of this statement falls to institutions of higher education, said Stewart, as not only possessors of some of the biggest voices in the field of education, but also as trainers of the future generation of teachers. This statement, he added, not only acknowledges how anti-LGBTQ+ bills are contributing to the further marginalization of the queer population, but it also serves as recognition of the power of education to address injustice. In just two months, 2023 has seen over 120 bills introduced across the country to restrict LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly targeting trans individuals’ freedom of gender expression and access to life-saving health care for those experiencing gender dysphoria. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a nonprofit organization working for over 100 years to preserve the right to liberty for all, is currently tracking 321 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the U.S.
The joint statement was originally written in response to the November 19, 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs, CO, which targeted members of the LGBTQ+ community and claimed the lives of five people. The statement was drafted by seven education scholars in both the U.S. and Canada. It received over 2,400 signatures of support in under one week.
“The horrific violence at Club Q unfolded against a backdrop of rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the U.S., particularly in the nation’s public schools and libraries,” the statement reads. “As scholars in the field of education, we are profoundly concerned by these recent attacks on LGBTQ+ youth and educators, which place them—and all LGBTQ+ people—at risk of harm.”
Dr. D-L Stewart, professor of higher education at the University of Denver and one of the co-authors of the statement.
