Welcoming Schools for Transgender and Non-Binary Students, Families, and Staff

What was the speaker’s best quote?

“We wanted to do this work [creating a kind, safe, and welcoming school], but we didn’t know how. Welcoming Schools showed us how.”

What were the Top 5 ideas from the session?

1. Why Welcoming Schools?
   • School Climate
   • Ally Behavior
   • Family Engagement
   • Academic Achievement
2. Welcoming Schools can provide four things:
   • Lesson plans, book lists, and resources
   • Seal of Excellence
   • Professional development
   • Partnerships
3. Various staff development programs:
   • Embracing All Families
   • Creating LGBTQ Inclusive Schools
   • Creating Gender Inclusive Schools
   • Preventing Bias-Based Bullying
   • Intersectionality: School Practices with an Intersectional Lens
   • Welcoming Schools Law and Policy Review
4. Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Students
   • Review critical data
   • Learn important vocabulary
   • Explore policies and practices
   • Respond to common situations (role playing)
   • Plan next actions
5. Legal Landscape—Laws are consistently being interpreted to affirm transgender rights.
   • First Amendment
   • Equal Protection Clause Under the 14th Amendment
   • Title IX
   • FERPA
   • Title VII (Bostock Decision—Bostock v. Clayton County)

What are three resources you will check out?

1. The Welcoming Schools website at welcomingschools.org.
2. “Gender Support Checklist for Transgender and Non-Binary Students“
3. “Summary Of Supportive Federal Laws and Constitutional Rights for Transgender Students“

What are some relevant or surprising stats you learned?

Research shows having at least one accepting adult can decrease an LGBTQ youth’s risk of suicide by 40%.

Notes provided by Todd L. Brist, principal of Watertown Middle School in Watertown, South Dakota.