We Have Been Here Before

There is a long line of court rulings that says if you has school clubs that you have to allow GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) in schools, I think that you are going to see a lot more court cases about this...

Here's why GLSEN plans to transform and relaunch amid attacks on LGBTQ+ youth

"GLSEN, like many of our peer organizations and the communities we serve, is not immune to the widespread and sudden changes moving swiftly over the horizon," writes Melanie Willingham-Jaggers.

The Advocate

By Melanie Willingham-Jaggers

February 03 2025

For 35 years, GLSEN has championed and expanded safe, inclusive K-12 environments where children can thrive, and learn free from fear. We are proud of the work we have done, to build acceptance and protection for LGBTQ+ students, and particularly in recent years, to build a sterling organizational reputation among our constituent communities, a committed and strong staff that is unified in its approach and thinking, and a known brand that generates awareness and hundreds of millions of impressions annually throughout the world.

My first encounter with GSAs was at the True Colors conference here in Connecticut back around the turn of the century at the conference when it was on the University of Hartford's campus but it out grew the campus and moved to Central Connecticut State University and to the University of Connecticut main campus un Storrs where it is now located.

Despite decades of hard-won victories, there is no denying the unprecedented nature of the current political and fundraising landscape. We are experiencing a profound shift in culture and ideology across our nation, and the time has come for us to talk openly about the toll it has taken on the trans community, LGBTQ+ advocacy and education civil rights organizations like GLSEN.

You know that this is on Trump's hate list and they are facing unrelenting legal attacks!

What we are witnessing is the culmination of a coordinated, well-funded right-wing attack. From legislative attacks to funding threats, this new reality demands that all of us adapt and respond with strategic determination.

And while as a nation our heads are spinning from the barrage of illegal and unconstitutional executive actions in the first 2 weeks, GLSEN has been in the eye of this storm for 3 years now.

GLSEN has been contending with the world like the one we are in now for a few years, which is how we know that when you concede an inch to your opposition you will never get it back and it will not stop their attacks.

They are now under an attack by Trump's anti-DEI campaign... Truthout writes,

Multiple bills take aim at transgender people in schools, as well as books about queer and transgender individuals. Among the most troubling is Senate Bill 86, which would require parental permission for high school students to join a Gay-Straight Alliance or any club that “promotes themes of sexuality, gender, or gender identity.” According to Lambda Legal, this requirement violates the Equal Access Act, which mandates that rules apply equally to all student groups and prohibits singling out GSAs for restrictive policies.

In another Truthout article this one form Trump's first term.

When student Mason Rice announced that he intended to start a gay-straight alliance, also known as gender and sexuality alliance or GSA, in Fannin County High School in Blue Ridge, Georgia, earlier this fall, conservative parents, students and church leaders organized to create a petition: “Don’t Let Homosexuality Be Pushed on Students in Fannin County,” it read. As of November 25, around 1,303 individuals had signed on.

Rice, however, launched a counter-petition that has collected nearly 32,000 signatures as of November 25. Nonetheless, despite overwhelming support for the GSA , the school principal has refused to allow the group to meet, arguing that new organizations can only be initiated at the start of the academic year, not six weeks in. Meanwhile, more than 20 groups, including a Bass Fishing Club and a Fellowship of Christian Athletes, currently meet on campus.

It was the right-wing that created the trouble with decades old GSA in Florida...

“We’ve had GSAs in the Pasco schools for more than a decade,” Cobbe told Truthout. “But it was only when a trans student came to the right’s attention that they began to organize.”

Meanwhile here in Connecticut on the state's Department of Education's website:

Your Right to Form a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)

Gay-straight alliances (GSAs) and similar student-initiated groups addressing Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender (LGBT) issues can play an important role in promoting safer schools and creating more welcoming learning environments. Nationwide, students are forming these groups in part to combat bullying and harassment of LGBT students and to promote understanding and respect in the school community. Although the efforts of these groups focus primarily on the needs of LGBT students, students who have LGBT family members and friends, and students who are perceived to be LGBT, messages of respect, tolerance, and inclusion benefit all our students. By encouraging dialogue and providing supportive resources, these groups can help make schools safe and affirming nvironments for everyone.

But in spite of the positive effect these groups can have in schools, some such groups have been unlawfully excluded from school grounds, prevented from forming, or denied access to school resources. These same barriers have sometimes been used to target religious and other student groups, leading Congress to pass the Equal Access Act.

In 1984, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Equal Access Act, requiring public secondary schools to provide equal access for extracurricular clubs. Rooted in principles of equal treatment and freedom of expression, the Act protects student-initiated groups of all types. By allowing students to discuss difficult issues openly and honestly, in a civil manner, our schools become forums for combating ignorance, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination.

The Act requires public secondary schools (including high schools and some middle schools) to treat all student-initiated groups equally, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject

matters discussed at their meetings. Its protections apply to groups that address issues relating to LGBT students and matters involving sexual orientation and gender identity, just as they apply to religious and other student groups.

Although specific implementation of the Equal Access Act depends upon contextual circumstances, these guidelines reflect basic obligations imposed on public school officials by the Act and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The general rule, approved by the U.S. Supreme Court, is that a public high school that allows at least one noncurricular student group to meet on school grounds during noninstructional time (e.g., lunch, recess, or before or after school) may not deny similar access to other noncurricular student groups, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject matters that the groups address.

According to the state's webpage this was copied from the U.S, Department of Education's webpage but if you go to the U.S. DoEd webpage you find....

Page Not Found - 404

We're sorry, but the page you are looking for doesn't exist.

    This might be because:

    The page has been moved or deleted.

Trump had it purged!

This March,,, here in Connecticut the new True Colors conference will be held on March 21^st and the 22^nd, my workshop is the last workshop session III at 2:30 to 3:30 on Friday.

Attendance is not cheap, it is a $100! But I know how you can get in free! Volunteer. They need tons of volunteers to keep the conference going smoothly and the best part you get to see the smiles on the faces of thousands of LGBTQ+ kids faces. This might be the only time in their lives that they are in a totally affirming spaces. And I do mean thousands... in their last conference they had about 3000 LGBTQ+ youth in attendance!

The best part? There are no federal funds being used so you can go tell Trump to take a hike!