Chicago Public Schools policy requires school district staff to support LGBT students and staff

The nations’ fourth largest school district has a policy requiring staff to support LGBT students and staff, giving such examples as using preferred pronouns and putting up visible signs of support in classrooms. 

Chicago Public Schools’ Comprehensive Mental Health and Suicide Prevention policy provides “required responses and guidelines for all staff responding to all students in all schools regardless of age, grade level, or school governance.” 

Under item 12, “LGBTQ+ Support,” school and district staff are told to “create safe and supportive environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, non-binary and gender nonconforming (LGBTQ+) students and staff,” giving a number of specific examples. 

It asks them to use an individual’s “affirmed name and/or pronouns,” as well as update official records “upon request by the individual.” The policy also asks staff to protect student privacy, as well as provide “equitable access” to transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students and staff “for the opportunity to participate in an overnight school trip.” 

Staff must also demonstrate support for LGBT students and staff by having “visible signs and symbols of support in the classroom and school building, incorporating LGBTQ inclusive curricula, and OUT for Safe Schools badges,” the policy reads. 

OUT for Safe Schools is a campaign encouraging “school staff to publicly identify as supportive LGBTQ+ allies in their school communities.” Since its implementation, it has been introduced in ten school districts around the country. The badges are only provided to adults in school districts participating in the campaign. 

Aside from Chicago Public Schools, the other school districts participating are Boston Public Schools, District of Columbia Department of Education and District of Columbia Public Schools, Duval County Public Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District, New York Department of Education, Oakland Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District, and San Francisco Unified School District, one document noted.  

Chicago Public Schools also has an LGBTQ+ Supportive Environments page providing resources and information on how schools can be “safer and more welcoming to LGBTQ students.” 

The guidelines explain how transgender and gender nonconforming students must be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms which make “them feel safest and most included in the school,” dress “in a manner consistent with their gender identity or expression,” and be allowed to participate in overnight field trips.  

The district also provides a toolkit to help implement guidelines. Staff members are not allowed to “disclose a student’s transgender, nonbinary or gender nonconforming status” to parents/guardians without the student’s permission,” unless the Law Department authorizes it, the toolkit reads.