Advice & Education Articles

High school principal outs gay students. Memphis educator went well beyond her role

The ACLU is defending two gay students who were outed by their high school principal. The principal wanted to know the names of students who were couples - heterosexual and homosexual - because she was concerned about public displays of affection.

She posted the entire list of students in public, which effectively outed two boys who were attempting to keep their sexuality private. Student relationships were revealed to other students, teachers and their parents.

The Mountain View Voice spotlights a group called Outlet, which supports area LGBT youth. The piece - posted April 18th - reports that a national survey shows 5 to 7 percent of teenagers will realize they are gay by the time they graduate.

Cord Blood Registry (CBR) announced that - for the second year in a row - a record number of cord blood stem cell collections stored at CBR have been needed for medical use by the individual child from whom they were collected. In 2007, a total of 16 cord blood collections stored at CBR were requested for medical use. Children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, juvenile diabetes and a rare immune system disorder will benefit from their own stem cells.

Lawrence King's murder has put America on alert. The 14-year-old boy was shot in the back of the head because he asked another boy to be his Valentine. The accused shooter - also 14 y.o. - has been charged with premeditated murder and will be tried as an adult. If convicted, he faces 50 years to life in prison.

In his blog post, Practical Tips for Lesbian and Gay Parents Raising Teenagers - Tony Madril, M.S.W., B.C.D. - shares his knowledge gained as a California clinical social worker and psychotherapist.

He writes:

Research coming from the UCLA School of Law spotlights Ohio's growing trend of same-sex parents.

Same-sex couples are raising nearly 12,000 children across Ohio and more than 2 percent of the state's adopted children.

The UCLA study notes that lesbians and gay men in the Buckeye State are forming committed relationships more than ever before - jumping from just under 19,000 in 2000 to nearly 30,700 by 2005.

Gay rights groups are celebrating the failure of a signature drive by ultra-conservatives to overturn civil rights protections for California students.

In a victory for Garden State Equality and the Anti-Defamation League, progress in the form of legislation is being considered to help curb high school bullying in the state.

Morris County's Daily Record found that anti-gay language "was rampant in local schools, with some students and teachers saying not enough was done to stop it".

State Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D) - from Santa Monica - is responding to the misleading information being spread about Senate Bill 777.

SB 777 requires the California Department of Education to monitor the way schools adhere to the state's anti-bias laws and specifically mandates the department to ensure the protection of LGBT students.

Right-wing press and leaders of conservative groups say the legislation orders public schools to allow boys and girls to use the same restrooms and locker-rooms.

Dr. Warren Throckmorton, producer of the documentary I Do Exist has started a lively discussion on his blog.

At issue is the number of studies done on same-sex parenting, and how much favorable data it may take to satisfy questions about our ability to be good parents.

One commenter on WThrockmorton.com writes: