All young people deserve the opportunity to succeed in a safe and protective school environment. But far too often, LGBTQ youth, and especially LGBTQ youth of color, face extreme barriers to achieving success.

We know Federation members are committed to creating safe and supportive schools in their communities, and we have some new resources to share to help them.

Our partners at GSA Network and Crossroads Collaborative have come out with three great, relevant, and easy-to-read resources on discipline disparities, school push-out, and the school-to-prison pipeline as they affect LGBTQ youth.

The first report on gender nonconforming youth finds that they are at a heightened risk of being pushed out of school. Specifically, they face harsher discipline and biased application of policies, and are likely to be blamed for their own victimization when reporting harassment.

Another report on LGBTQ youth of color finds they face similar challenges to gender nonconforming youth, as well as increased surveillance and policing. These youth experience a form of bullying and harassment based on their race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or all of the above all at once, creating significant negative effects on a student’s learning environment and feelings of safety.

A companion brief, created in partnership with Advancement Project, makes recommendations for addressing school discipline disparities, with strategies for youth, teachers, administrators and policy makers to tackle the problem.

The findings and recommendations in these reports are based on research done with youth across lines of race, class, ability, gender, sexuality, and region. Their stories provide important insights into school pushout practices, and show they are pushing back.

“These findings echo what we hear again and again from youth leaders – LGBTQ youth of color and gender nonconforming students are being pushed out of school by policies and practices that single them out for harassment and punishment,” said Mustafa Sullivan, Director of National Programs at GSA Network. “But youth are pushing back, and these reports come with recommendations for young people to take action, for example through our #GSAs4Justice campaign.”

Be sure to check out these reports and resources, including infographics you can share on social media, as you help to end LGBTQ youth school pushout in your community.