Call to Action for School District 70!

 
 

TELL THE D70 BOARD OF EDUCATION AND SUPERINTENDENT TO Support LGBTQ+ Students

During the September 24th meeting of the District 70 Board of Education, there was a discussion about the District’s Social Emotional Learning Curriculum. During the discussion, concerns were raised about the inclusion of LGBTQ+ supportive aspects of the curriculum. One Board Member said in reference to kids in K-2 “they can barely wipe their ass, they don’t know their pronouns“. Another said, “I’m not talking the LGBTQ, I’m not talking the critical race theory. We agree, that stuff, we don’t agree with that stuff. At least I don’t agree with that stuff. That’s the other 10% that isn’t okay in a lot of this curriculum stuff“. The video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3V2ICLyu3I. The board discussion starts around the 1 hour mark - public comment came before that.

Please write to the D70 Board of Education and encourage them to make sure their Social Emotional Learning Curriculum retains components that support LGBTQ+ students.

EMAIL THE D70 BOARD OF EDUCATION

Send an email to: aochs@district70.org, awilson@district70.org, jchristenson@district70.org, cculhane-howland@dsitrict70.org, cdeluca@district70.org, rrein@district70.org

Subject: Support LGBTQ+ Students

Body (PLEASE EDIT BEFORE SENDING): District 70 Board of Education Members and Superintendent Rein,

My name is [Insert Name] and I am a concerned [Parent, Student, Teacher, Community Member, etc.]. I am urging you to keep the aspects of the District’s Social Emotional Learning Curriculum that support our LGBTQ+ Students.

There are LGBTQ+ Students in District 70 and their mental health and wellness matters. Each student deserves a supportive, affirming school. Sharing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from the board dais can directly impact the mental health of our LGBTQ+ students - especially when the discussion is about eliminating social emotional curriculum content that can specifically address their mental health challenges. LGBTQ+ students are disproportionally affected by mental health challenges and pretending they don’t exist or disagreeing with their identity will only further the gap.

[Insert personal story or statistics for the board to consider in relation to this policy].

Thank you for keeping the safety, mental health, and lives of LGBTQ+ students in mind while you consider the District’s Social Emotional Learning Curriculum.

Sincerely,

[Name and Contact Info]

PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT AT A MEETING

The next D70 Board of Education Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 8th at 6:00pm and takes place at the D70 Administration Building (24951 US Highway 50 East, Pueblo, CO 81006). They only allow 3 speakers per topic, so please send us an email at info@socoequality.org if you’re willing to speak. We would like to fill the room with support, so please plan to attend if you can!

STATISTICS AND DATA TO SUPPORT THE REQUEST

Local data from the Health Kids Colorado Survey, specifically from their High School Region 7 which is the whole of Pueblo County. Out of 2,922 high school respondents, 635 identified as Bisexual, Gay/Lesbian, Pansexual, Asexual, or another sexual orientation identity and 99 identified as transgender.

  1. Among students that were bullied in the last 12 months, the percentage who were bullied because of sexual orientation: 38% of bisexual students, 64.4% of Gay/Lesbian students, and 55.9% of pansexual students compared to 7.9% of their straight peers.

  2. Among students that were bullied in the last 12 months, the percentage who were bullied because of gender identity: 79.3% of transgender students compared to 8.3% of their cisgender peers.

  3. Percentage of students who purposely hurt themselves without wanting to die in the past 12 months: 35.8% of bisexual students, 30.1% of gay/lesbian students, 40.3% of pansexual students, 45.4% of asexual students, and 60.7% of transgender students compared to 9% of their straight peers and 14% of their cisgender peers.

  4. Percentage of students who felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row during the past 12 months that they stopped doing some usual activities: 48% of bisexual students, 34.7% of gay/lesbian students, 56.5% of pansexual students, 70% of asexual students, and 67.9% of transgender students compared to 25.6% of their straight peers and 29.3% of their cisgender peers.

  5. Percentage of students who seriously considered attempting suicide during the past 12 months: 31.7% of bisexual students, 17.2% of gay/lesbian students, 41.5% of pansexual students, 33.3% of asexual students, and 54.4% of transgender students compared to 8.8% of their straight peers and 12.2% of their cisgender peers.

  6. Percentage of students who made a plan about how they would attempt suicide during the past 12 months: 22.8% of bisexual students, 12.6% of gay/lesbian students, 41% of pansexual students, 27.1% of asexual students, and 43.3% of transgender students compared to 7.9% of their straight peers and 10.6% of their cisgender peers.

  7. Percentage of students who attempted suicide one or more times during the past 12 months: 18.1% of bisexual students, 3.3% of gay/lesbian students, 16.2% of pansexual students, 9.5% of asexual students, and 24.9% of transgender students compared to 4.8% of their straight peers and 6.4% of their cisgender peers.

  8. Percentage of students who agree or strongly agree that they belong at their school: 55.3% of bisexual students, 60.4% of gay/lesbian students, 51.6% of pansexual students, 25.7% of asexual students, and 40.5% of transgender students compared to 68.6% of their straight peers and 65.4% of their cisgender peers.

  9. Percentage of students who usually or definitely feel safe at school: 87.3% of bisexual students, 75.2% of gay/lesbian students, 80.9% of pansexual students, 85.9% of asexual students, and 74.5% of transgender students compared to 91.3% of their straight peers and 90.1% of their cisgender peers.

    According to a national survey from the Trevor Project, more than half (54%) of transgender and nonbinary young people found their school to be gender-affirming, and those who did reported lower rates of attempting suicide. The same survey indicated that nearly half (46%) of transgender and nonbinary and 39% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. The survey indicates that LGBTQ+ young people who reported living in very accepting communities attempted suicide at less than half the rate of those who reported living in very unaccepting communities.