Sexual Orientation and School Policy: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Administrators, and Community Activists (Curriculum, Cultures, and (Homo)Sexualities)

240 Pages·2003·3.55 MB·English

by  Ian K. Macgillivray

S E X U A L ORIENTATION
AND SCHOOL POLICY
Curriculum, Cultures, and (Homo)Sexualities
Edited by JamesT. Sears
Editorial Advisory Board:
Dennis Altman, Warren Blumenfeld, Deborah Britzman, Diane DuBose
Brunner, Debbie Epstein, Pat Griffin, Glorianne Leck, Peter McLaren,
William Pinar, Eric Rofes, and Mariamne Whatley
Getting Ready for Benjamin: Preparing Teachers for Sexual Diversity in the
Classroom
Edited by Rita M. Kissen
Troubling Intersections of Race and Sex
Edited by Kevin K. Kumashiro
Queering Elementary Education
Edited by William 7. Letts IV and James T. Sears
Beyond Diversity Day: A Q&A on Gay and Lesbian Issues
in Schools
Arthur Lipkin
Forthcoming in the Series
Border Sexualities and Border Families
By Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli
S E X U A L ORIENTATION
A N D SCHOOL POLICY
A Practical Guide for Teachers,
Administrators, and Community Activists
Ian K. Macgillivray
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC
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Lanham * Boulder * New York * Toronto Oxford
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Published in the United States of America
by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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Copyright 0 2004 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Macgillivray, Ian K. 1967-
Sexual orientation and school policy :a practical guide for teachers,
administrators, and community activists / Ian K. Macgillivray.
p. cm. -(Curriculum, cultures, and (homo)sexualities)
ISBN 0-7425-2507-4 (cloth : alk. paper) -ISBN 0-7425-2508-2 (pbk. :
alk. paper)
1. Homosexuality and education. 2. Education-Social aspects. 3.
Gays-Identity. 4. Lesbians-Identity. I. Title. 11. Series
LC192.6.M33 2004
37 1.826'64-dc2 1
2003011932
Printed in the United States of America
@"
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO 239.48- 1992.
Dedicated to the High Plains Safe Schools Coalition.
Keep up the great work!
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
Series Editor’s Foreword: James T. Sears, Ph.D.
ix
Foreword: Kevin Jennings xi
Acknowledgments xv
Part I: Implementing School Nondiscrimination Policy That
Includes Sexual Orientation: A Case Study in School
and Community Politics
1 In the Beginning 3
2 A History of the Two Policies 27
3 Strategies Employed by the High Plains Safe Schools Coalition
to Build Community and District Support 49
4 Lessons from the Case of High Plains 61
5 Suggestions for Other School Districts and Safe
Schools Coalitions 77
Part 11: Understanding Moral Conservative Opposition to School Policies
That Include Sexual Orientation
6 Opposition to Educational Change 83
7 How the Various Sides in This Debate Make Meaning of
the Policies 91
8 Why the Various Sides Support or Oppose the Inclusion of Sexual
Orientation in the Policies 111
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v11-
...
Vlll Contents
9 Conclusion: How to Evaluate the Competing Claims of
Violations of Rights 143
Epilogue: My Reflections on This Research 167
Appendix A On the Making of Sexual Orientation and
School Policy 175
Appendix B: Methods of Data Analysis 187
Appendix C: Validity and Reliability 193
Appendix D: HPSD’s Nondiscrimination Policy 197
Appendix E: Diversity Goal Statement with Beliefs from
Strategic Plan 199
Appendix F: Associated Regulations That Support the
Nondiscrimination Policy 201
Bibliography 21 1
Index 217
About the Author 223
Series Editor’s Foreword
James T. Sears, Ph.D.
0UR NATION’S SECONDARY SCHOOLS HAVE experienced remarkable progress
in addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) concerns.
From the formation of gay-straight alliances to the adoption of antiharass-
ment policies, being a queer high school student is in some ways quite differ-
ent from my experience a generation ago.
Progress, however, can only be judged from my Ozzie and Harriet vantage
point-an era when every state criminalized homosexuality, when the psy-
chiatric profession diagnosed it as an illness, when no religious denomina-
tion sanctified homosexual relationships, and when teachers were entrapped
and summarily dismissed because of their sexual orientation. Even today,
relatively few schools have recognized gay student groups (the drama club
notwithstanding); little protection is provided to LGBT educators or pupils;
the curricula that include the contributions of acknowledged lesbians and
gay men are rare as are pedagogical practices that are inclusive; and queer-
ing elementary education is more likely found on a bookshelf than in the
classroom.
Within this historical context a new generation of scholars and researchers
are peering into the black box of schooling. They are asking difficult ques-
tions, often challenging our simple-minded equation that policy reform
equals school change. One of these inquirers is Ian K. Macgillivray, an openly
gay classroom teacher with an earned doctorate who came out to the music of
Boy George and George Michael.
Macgillivray takes us to America’s heartland through an exemplary ethno-
graphic inquiry. In Sexual Orientation and School Policy, we enter High Plains
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1x