movieguy Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 New York City Schools Hostile To Gays Study Says by Beth Shapiro 365Gay.com New York Bureau Posted: October 28, 2005 9:00 pm ET (New York City) New York City's Department of Education says it will move swiftly to address concerns in a new report that says LGBT students are regularly harassed and bullied at school. The study, by the nonprofit Advocates for Children, is considered the first examination of conditions faced by the city's more than 14,000 LGBT students. The agency interviewed 75 current students, graduates and dropouts. Among the instances cited in the study, a male student boy threw a gasoline-soaked paper ball at another student perceived to be lesbian. When she caught the paper ball the boy ignited it. In another case a transgender student was illegally suspended for wearing make-up. The Department of Education says it already has bias and diversity sensitivity training for key staff. One of those sessions is led by the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Manhattan. Critics say the training needs to be extended to everyone who works in the education systems. LGBT rights groups blame Mayor Michael Bloomberg not doing enough. Last year Bloomberg vetoed the Dignity for All Students Act . City Council later overrode the veto but Bloomberg, critics charge, has done little to put the measure into effect. The act requires the city to tracking cases of bias in schools. The New York study closely parallels a national survey released early this month to coincide with National Coming Out Day. That study, conducted by Harris Interactive for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, showed that 65% of all teens report that they have been verbally or physically harassed or assaulted during the past year. The study said that the harassment came about because of the teens' perceived or actual appearance, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, race/ethnicity, disability or religion. (story) ©365Gay.com 2005 www.365gay.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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