Silver State Equality recently unveiled a comprehensive survey, shedding light on the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth in Nevada schools. The survey revealed a startling statistic: 40% of LGBTQ students in the state reported feeling unsafe in schools.
The survey was initiated by Silver State Equality's LGBTQ Student Advisory Council, established in 2022. It collected responses from 76 LGBTQ-identifying students spanning seventh through twelfth grade, hailing from Clark, Washoe, Douglas, Elko, Lincoln, and Nye counties.
Despite Nevada's reputation for progressive attitudes towards queer issues and an estimated LGBTQ population of 145,000 individuals, feelings of insecurity among LGTBQ youth raise important questions. Why in a state with a generally supportive environment, do LGBTQ students continue to experience safety concerns in their schools?
DESCRIMINATION AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
Bullying and teasing by peers may come to mind when one thinks of discrimination happening at school. In fact, forty percent of respondents from the local survey reported being teased by peers within the past six months for being LGBTQ+. But, Jessica Munger, Program Manager with Silver State Equality, said that wasn't the only issue.
"80% of students reported discrimination from those in authority for their LGBTQ identity," said Munger. "While that's not necessarily surprising information, it's still shocking at the same time."
Nevada's largest school district, Clark County, does have a policy protecting LGBTQ Youth from discrimination. They were required by state law to have one and it was enacted in 2018.
CCSD Policy 5138 - CCSD is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for all students, including those with diverse gender identities or expressions at all district facilities including but not limited to school buses, grounds, buildings, and school sponsored activities. State law protects students from discrimination based on gender identities or expressions.
Even so, Munger says the policy is just words without implementation.
"We really need to be looking at how these policies are being implemented and what they actually look like in terms of the day to day experiences of authority figures and students."
Gray, a local 7th grader and member of the LGBTQ community, said they once approached an administrator about harassment they experienced, but was disregarded.
“I was shut down,” said Grey. “They basically did not want to talk about it. It was a hate crime out of school, but by a classmate, and they were like, ‘well, because it wasn't on school campus. We can't do anything.”
Jenna Robertson, director of the Nevada Alliance for Student Diversity, said CCSD’s LGBTQ program and training for administrators and staff isn't robust enough.
"The training that they do offer is accurate, but it's just about a 20 minute video, and they have small questions that they answer on their way through. It’s just not very thorough.”
However, Emma White, Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Nevada Department of Education, said the state is working to improve its focus on LGBTQ safety.
“Senate Bill 225, signed by former Governor Sandoval, has specific guidance on how to implement policies like: calling students by their preferred name, parent engagement, developing gender support teams and plans, and disciplinary methods for policy violation. It is now how we implement those things, and it does take a little bit of time.”
PARENTAL RIGHTS
There are and have been opponents to CCSD’s gender policy protections.
In a September 2023 CCSD Board Meeting, there were public comments from people wanting the policy repealed.
“Why do they need to have their education scaffolded to encompass pronouns in kindergarten, that is between a parent and their child, not between a teacher and their child,” said one person.
“When mama and papa bears are finding out for the first time that the stuff their kids are being literally forced to learn, is going against everything that they've been taught...they get a little upset,” said another.
Currently, CCSD staff and administrators aren’t obligated to affirm a youth’s desired gender name if the youth’s parents haven’t signed off on it.
Laura Hernandez, Director of Youth Programs at the LGBTQIA+ Center of Southern Nevada, said youth should be able to make these decisions themselves.
“I think there is a line between when we update a student's name in the school system, or when we give access to different facilities, as those can only be initiated by a parent,” said Hernandez. “But there's many students who are just asking to be affirmed verbally in the classroom. They're just saying, ‘can you please use this name in class? Can you just refer to me with this pronoun?' Navigating the line between affirming a child and ensuring that we are also respecting the rights of parents is a difficult line, but in the end, it's really young people that are suffering.
We reached out to CCSD and the parental rights group Mom's For Liberty, but did not hear back in time for this panel discussion.
Guests: Jessica Munger, program manager, Silver State Equality; Jenna Robertson, advocacy director and co-founder, Nevada Alliance for Student Diversity; Laura Hernandez, director of youth and senior programs, The LGBTQIA+ Center of Southern Nevada; Gray, seventh grader; Emma White, youth suicide prevention coordinator, Nevada Department of Education
