Safe and supportive schools for LGBT youth: Addressing educational inequities through inclusive policies and practices

Jack K. Day, Salvatore Ioverno, Stephen T. Russell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

86 Scopus citations

Abstract

Inclusive policies that attend to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are associated with more supportive school environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. We use the 2013–2015 California Healthy Kids Survey (n = 113,148) matched with principal reports of school policies from the 2014 California School Health Profiles to examine differential effects of SOGI-focused policies for LGB and transgender youth. SOGI-focused policies had a direct association with less truancy, and moderated the association between sexual orientation/gender identity and other school outcomes. SOGI-focused policies were associated with more positive experiences and perceptions of school climate for LGB youth and, to a lesser extent, transgender youth. Findings underscore the importance of inclusive policies, especially those that address the unique needs of transgender students.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)29-43
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of School Psychology
Volume74
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • Academic achievement
  • Bullying and harassment
  • Gender identity
  • School policy
  • Sexual orientation
  • Truancy and absenteeism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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