For Public Policy

 

State-Level Advocacy

Policies affecting LGBTQ students in Arizona schools

GLSEN’s policy work strives to develop safe and inclusive national, state, and local policies that create positive school climates for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. GLSEN is also committed to dismantling all identity-based oppressions, including but not limited to, race, ethnicity, ability, and immigration status. The policy pages of the GLSEN National website contain helpful information about federal policy, state policy, local policy, and policy resources like model anti-bullying and harassment policies.

 

Locally, GLSEN Arizona also works closely with the ACLU of Arizona, Equality Arizona, Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization (AZTYPO), HRC Arizona, and other organizations to fight discriminatory bills that, if passed, would harm LGBTQ students in Arizona schools. For the 2022 legislative session, we are monitoring the following bills. We encourage students, teachers, and parents to take action against this harmful legislation.

Bill Tracker

Here’s How You Can Take Action Now

Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, administrator, or community member, you play a role in helping to fight anti-LGBTQ bills. Here are some actions you can take immediately:

 

  1. Let your voice be heard through the Request to Speak (RTS) system. Once your account is activated, you take a number of actions through the online system, without being physically present during committee hearings (i.e., from the comfort of your home or workplace). You can (a) register a formal position on a bill (“for” or “against”), (b) submit brief comments about your position, or (c) indicate that you wish to make oral comments during a committee hearing.

  2. Find and contact your legislators. First, use the online district locator tool to look up your address and see your AZ Senate and House district. After locating your districts, look up your legislators.

  3. Sign up to tell your story. GLSEN Arizona has developed a training on how to tell your story as part of the legislative process, including during hearings around anti-LGBTQ bills. Scroll down for more information. 

  4. Participate in Lobby Days:

  5. Educate yourself on the issues by reviewing these policy resources.

Storytelling Testimony Training

On February 17, 2022 our GLSEN Arizona StoryBank coordinator, Sean Nonnenmacher, led a free virtual training designed to equip community members – including students, educators, and parents – with the practical knowledge needed to prepare and deliver their own 2-minute testimony at the legislature. This training covers key dimensions of stories and storytelling, the structure of a 2-minute testimony, and the components of impactful testimony, along with important logistical information.

 

You can view the training below, and if you have any questions or need additional tips, please reach out to Sean at stories@glsenarizona.org. 

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You can also check out our tips on recording your video testimony on your phone.

 
 
Police Car Lights

[I]t is our belief that to work with School Resource Officers (SROs) would run counter to our mission, compromise our efficacy, and make schools feel hostile, especially for BIPOC students. For these reasons, we at GLSEN Phoenix support policies that defund SROs.

Click here for GLSEN Phoenix's full statement. 

Arizona LGBTQ+ Lobby Day

Every year, Equality Arizona alongside other organizations and community members alike rally together to lobby for state-wide legislation that protects the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination and harassment, whether it's lobbying for the repeal or blocking of harmful legislation or advocating for the implementation of legislation that protects. LGBTQ+ Lobby Day is an opportunity to meet with your legislators and learn critical advocacy skills with your community.

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​In 2019, GLSEN Arizona was part of the coalition of organizations that successfully lobbied for the repeal of the "No Promo Homo" Law, which prohibited all public school districts in Arizona from including in their HIV/AIDS instruction any information that “promotes a homosexual life-style, portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative life-style, [or] suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.”

 

In 2020, GLSEN Arizona also lobbied against the trans sports bill that would prevent trans girls and young women from playing on the sports team of the gender they identify with.

2020 Equality Arizona Lobby Day outside the AZ state capitol.
 
Students marching in protest with "sign the petition" signs and pride flags.

“I'm really excited to see our conversations about safe schools grow and to have, on policy committee, the opportunity to expand our notions of safe schools.”

Carolyn Evans, GLSEN Phoenix Board Member + Policy Co-Chair

Learn more about becoming a StoryBank Storyteller.

 

Attend Your Local School Board Meeting

Our local school boards can have the most direct impact on student safety. For instance, school boards make important curriculum decisions and decide whether a school stays online during a pandemic versus hybrid or in-person. As an educator, student, family member, or local community member, your voice can make a difference in creating safer schools for LGBTQ+ youth.

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How can you make your voice heard? First things first, visit your school district's website. You can find your school district using K12 Academics directory here. Next, do your research; find out what the issues are, what's being voted on, and any relevant facts or findings. Once you have all the information you need, attend your district's next school board meeting. The next meeting date should be listed on the district website's event calendar with information on how to attend in-person and/or virtually. Most school boards even provide an online livestream for public viewing.

 

If you're feeling empowered to speak to the safety of LGBTQ+ students, you can submit your public comment. There is power in numbers, so rallying folks to support or oppose the same issue can make a difference. GLSEN Arizona can help. For more information or support from GLSEN Arizona, email policy@glsenarizona.org.

Find Your School Board Now