School’s Out – But You Still Have Rights!

Congratulations students on finishing up another school year!

The year may be winding down, but GLAD still wants you to know your rights.

Below is a summary of some of the more important rights you need to know. But remember, you can always contact GLAD’s Legal InfoLine with any questions, and you can check out our detailed information for each New England state.

Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Youth Rights in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems

by Bruce Bell, Legal InfoLine Manager

In a recent post, I focused on the rights that students, particularly public school students, have and the anti-discrimination laws that provide protection to youth as well as adults in employment, housing and public accommodations.

GLAD’s Youth Initiative is also working to make sure youth in the child welfare system or the juvenile justice system know their rights, and we are exploring ways to increase those protections. 

If your rights are being violated or you have questions about your rights, or if you work with LGBTQ youth in one of these areas and have questions, GLAD would like to hear from you.  Contact GLAD’s Legal InfoLine by email or live chat or call our toll-free number, 800-455-GLAD (4523).  A friendly volunteer will assist you—it’s free and confidential.

LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system have the right to safe and appropriate placements, free from discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, and have the right to:

Know Your Rights: GLAD's Youth Initiative

GLAD is expanding our Youth Initiative with the goals of both fighting for additional rights and protections for LGBTQ youth and, of equal importance, empowering LGBTQ youth through knowledge of the many rights and protections that currently exist in New England.  Knowledge is power. If you know your rights, you’ll know when they are being violated. GLAD can work with you to make sure that you are treated justly both in and out of school.

Let’s start in school. 

Know Your Rights: Violence, Harassment and Bullying

This week during No Name Calling Week, schools and organizations across the country are working to raise awareness of the need to stop the bullying and harassment of LGBTQ people.

Despite the fact that all six New England states have hate crime protections for gay men and lesbians, four of the six have explicit hate crime protections for transgender people, and all six have some of the strongest anti-bullying laws in the country, GLAD’s Legal InfoLine continues to receive calls from LGBT people who have been attacked after leaving a gay bar, students who are being so badly harassed at school because of their gender identity or sexual orientation that they no longer feel it is safe for them to attend, and victims of same-sex domestic violence who are not taken seriously by the police, just to name a few troubling issues.