There's a lot of information about schools issues for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth both on the ACLU's website and elsewhere on the web, but sometimes it can be difficult to find your way to the resources you need online. We've gathered some of the best information we have plus great stuff from other organizations and websites on this page to help you find things that can help you learn more about your rights and what you can do to make your school a safer, more welcoming place.

General Resources

Welcoming Schools from Human Rights Campaign : An LGBTQ-inclusive approach to addressing family diversity, gender stereotyping and bullying and name-calling in kindergarten through 5th grade learning environments.

The Unfair Criminalization of Gay and Transgender Youth : This research brief by the Center for American Progress provides an overview of the experiences of LGBTQ youth in the juvenile justice system.

Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel : A booklet for educators by the American Psychological Association that debunks the myths of the so-called “Ex-Gay” movement and helps school officials make educated, informed decisions when dealing with sexual orientation issues in their schools.

Get Yr Rights: A network created by Streetwise & Safe and BreakOUT! to provide curriculum, toolkits, and strategies to youth doing local work to learn about and inform other youth about their legal rights.

GLSEN : A national organization devoted to LGBTQ schools issues. Be sure to check out the index of all their research and studies .

Equal Access Act/Gay-Straight Alliances

How to Start a GSA video: A short online video outlining the steps students can take to start a GSA at any public school.

How to Start a GSA guide: A how-to guide on starting a GSA at your school. A printable PDF version is available here.

GSA Mission Statement Examples: Your school may require you to write a mission statement for your club. Here are a few good examples from GSA clubs around the U.S.

Open Letter to Schools About GSAs: An open letter to school administrators about why they must allow students to form GSAs. You can print this out and give a copy to your school when you turn in your application to start your club.

GSA Federal Court Victories: A Fact Sheet for LGBTQ High School Students: Since the first court case involving a school that tried to prevent a GSA club from forming, over a dozen federal courts have upheld students’ right to form these clubs at public schools – and the ACLU has been involved in most of those cases. Here is information on many of those cases. A printable PDF version is available here.

U.S. Department of Education guidance on GSA clubs and the Equal Access Act: An open letter from the federal government about students’ right to form GSAs in public schools. The letter includes studies and case law and makes it clear that public schools are legally required to allow students to start GSAs and schools must treat GSAs the same as any other clubs. There is also another document with more legal citations that goes with it; you should include it if you give this letter to your school. It's a Word document and can be downloaded here.

GSA Network: A California-based organization that exists to support GSAs. The resource section of their site has lots of ideas for starting a GSA as well as activities your GSA can do once the club is established, and there's other good information to be found throughout their site.

Gay-Straight Alliances: Ground Zero for School Tolerance: An article written for teachers by teachers from Education World magazine, explaining why GSAs should be allowed at schools. You can print this out and give a copy to your school when you turn in your application to start your club.

Information on the federal Equal Access Act: A good basic history and explanation of the law that protects your right to form a GSA, on the ReligiousTolerance.org website.

Wikipedia's entry on the federal Equal Access Act: Summarizes the details of the law and includes a link to the full text of the law.