Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition Convenes Today

October 10-11, the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition will convene its inaugural conference addressing the harassment and bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students.

The Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition, which was formed this fall, is led by students across Mississippi working to promote student safety through a number of educational strategies and policies. These strategies will include urging Mississippi schools and communities to adopt comprehensive non-discrimination policies, training coordinators, and developing local strategies to educate students on their constitutional rights. Members of the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition are working together with the LGBT Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Jackson chapter of Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to ensure that all students have access to public education that is safe and free from discrimination.

LGBT students in Mississippi face the most hostile school environment in the country. This according to a 2004 report by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The report ranked Mississippi dead last in a nationwide study of anti-bullying policies in schools. Mississippi not only tolerates school bullying, as it has no set policy against it, but the state also preaches an explicitly anti-gay message as part of its public school curriculum.

Mississippi doesn’t have a monopoly on harassment and bullying however. According to a recent study conducted by the California Department of Education, 91 percent of students report hearing anti-gay slurs from their peers, and 44 percent report hearing them from their teachers.

It has been proven and documented that harassment and bullying of LGBT students has tragic affects and consequences. According to a 2005 study conducted by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, 64.3% of gay and lesbian students and 40.7% of transgender students report feeling unsafe at school as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity. According to a 1999 study by the Massachusetts Department of Education, 33 percent of gay and lesbian youth attempt suicide due to constant harassment and bullying from peers and teachers.

You can find out more at supportstudentsafety.com.