How to Start a GSA
by Tay Adams and Camyln Giddins
How to Start a GSA by Tay Adams and Camyln Giddins
“It’s really simple: If you don’t feel safe at school, you can’t learn -- you’re thinking about the next insult, the next throw against the locker,” Brian Juchems—GSAs for Safe Schools1
Why Start a GSA?
A GSA, which stands for gender & sexuality alliance,2 provides a safe space for students regardless of their orientation or gender identity. A GSA can also provide a way for students to connect with each other, allowing them to improve the environment of their school. Significantly, although LGBTQ+ youth experience suicidal ideation and attempts at twice the rate of their peers or more, the mere presence of a GSA in their school can cut this number in half.3 1
GLSEN, a key organization in providing research and support for GSAs in the US, has found that GSAs lead to connections between LGBTQ+ students and their peers; that schools with a GSA are more accepting of LGBTQ+ students; less homophobic and transphobic language is heard; and
1 “THIS is Why We Need a GSA.” (2007, January 4). Teaching Tolerance. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2007/this-iswhy-we-need-a-gsa 2 GSA was formerly understood to mean “gay-straight alliance” or “gay student alliance.” These usages have become less common than “gender and sexuality alliance.” You may also see these groups referred to as QSAs, or queer student alliances. 3 School-Based Strategies to Reduce Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempts, and Discrimination Among Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Adolescents in Western Canada. (2014). International Journal of Child, Youth & Family Studies, 5(1). doi: https://doi. org/10.18357/ijcyfs.saewyce.512014
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students are safer.4 GLSEN also concluded that students at a school with a GSA were better able to find school staff who would support them, leading to an improved school environment and a higher rate of academic success for LGTBQ+ students.5 GSAs can benefit an entire student body. Transphobic and homophobic bullying can make school a dangerous place for anyone who is targeted, whether or not they are LGBTQ+. On the finding that straight students can also benefit from the presence of a GSA, one researcher said “when policies and supportive programs like GSAs are in place long enough to change the environment of the school, it’s better for students’ mental health, no matter what their orientation.” GSAs can benefit an entire student body. Transphobic and homophobic bullying can make school a dangerous place for anyone who is targeted, whether or not they are LGBTQ+. On the finding that straight students can also benefit from the presence of a GSA, one researcher said “when policies and supportive programs like GSAs are in place long enough to change the environment of the school, it’s better for students’ mental health, no matter what their orientation.”6 For a review of research on the impact of GSAs provided by the American Counseling Association,7 visit: www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/article_45
4 GLSEN, A. M. (2012, January 25). First National Gay-Straight Alliance Day Set For January 25. Retrieved April 15, 2020, from https://www.glsen.org/news/first-nationalgay-straight-alliance-day-set-january-25 5 Gay, L., & Network, S. E. (2007). Gay-straight alliances: Creating safer schools for LGBT students and their allies. (GLSEN Research Brief ). New York: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. 6 University of British Columbia. (2014, January 20). Gay-straight alliances in schools reduce suicide risk for all students. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from https://news.ubc. ca/2014/01/20/gay-straight-alliances-in-schools-reduce-suicide-risk-for-all-students/ 7 Deming, E., Soule, K., Poulsen, N., & Walker, T. (n.d.). Gay--Straight Alliances Impact on School Climate and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Student Well-Being.
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How To Start a GSA
1. Gather at least three prospective members.8 2. Find a faculty advisor. It can be anyone who works at your school. If you don’t know of a faculty member who would be a good GSA advisor, try asking your guidance counselor for suggestions. 3. Submit a written application to form a student club to your school district or other Local Education Authority (LEA).9 You can ask your school’s administration for instructions on submitting your application. It will need to include the name of your club, as well as what type of club it is, including the “purposes, goals, and activities” of the club.10 Some groups chose the traditional name, “Gender & Sexuality Alliance,” but you could also choose to call it a “Queer Student Alliance” or QSA. Whatever you choose, the name of your club should give a clear idea of what your club is about.11
8 Student Clubs Act, Utah Code §553G-7-704(1) 9 You can find out which school district or LEA your school is a part of at https://www.schools.utah.gov/schoolsdirectory 10 Student Clubs Act, Utah Code §53G-7-704(3) 11 Student Clubs Act, Utah Code §53G-7-704(5)(b)
4. Prepare the following administrative details: A tentative schedule of events An estimate of costs, what the funds will be used for, and where the funds will come from. Under the Student Clubs Act, your school is only permitted to cover the costs of the space you will be using at the school, and associated costs such as payroll for faculty members who must be present while you use the space.12 Be ready to keep track of club membership, including parents’ permission forms. 5. Gather permission forms from the parents of each member of the club.13 School districts differ in how they enforce this requirement.14 To avoid problems with the school district, it’s a good idea to be proactive and organized with parental permission forms for your GSA. 6. Decide on the rules for your group. Protecting confidentiality is an important thing to consider. How will you make sure that what people say in your club stays in your club? What other values do you want to follow as a group? How will decisions be made? Who will lead the club, and what principles should your leader (or leaders) follow as they make decisions? 7. Develop a plan. What are your long-term goals? How will your club carry over to the next school year?
12 Student Clubs Act, Utah Code §53G-7-707(3)(b) 13 Student Clubs Act, Utah Code §53G-7-709 14 Poritz, I. (2019, October 30). Bridging the Rainbow Divide. Salt Lake City Weekly; Salt Lake City Weekly. https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/bridging-the-rainbow-divide/ Content?oid=14378158
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“You can take us down. You can take our signs down. You can take the tears out of our eyes. But we still have a legal right to keep meeting.” Kevin Hamrick — high school freshman (at the time)15
15 Ring, T. (2016, February 9). WATCH: GSA Can Stay, Says Rural Tennessee School System. Advocate.com.
The Law Regarding GSAs
PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS All public high schools16 in the US that allow any extra-curricular clubs must allow students to form a GSA. This is provided for in the Equal Access Act of 1984, which prohibits schools from discriminating between student clubs “on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings.”17 In Utah, clubs at public schools are subject to the Student Clubs Act of 2007.18 Under this law, as a student club, a GSA must have at least 3 members, submit a written application to their school district, must avoid certain designated topics of discussion, and each participant must have written permission from a parent.19 Despite these restrictions from the Student Clubs Act, it’s important to know that educators in Utah are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sex or sexual orientation, and from acting in a way that would encourage prejudice among students.20
16 The Equal Access Act does not apply to private schools, provided that they do not receive financial assistance from the federal government. Therefore in theory they could discriminate when it comes to which clubs are allowed to organize and meet at the school. There is little that can be done if this is the case; however, students at such a school can make use of resources that exist outside of the school system. 17 Equal Access Act of 1984, 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071–4074 (1984). 18 Utah Code §53G-7-701 et seq. 19 Ibid. 20 Utah Admin. Code R277-103-3(6)(c)
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State and federal courts have the ability to review legislation and decide how it applies to a particular case. Utah students trying to form a student club should be aware of the decision in East High Gay Straight Alliance v. Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District (1999).21 In addition, the ACLU has compiled a list of court cases representing victories for students seeking to form GSAs.22 Understanding how court cases apply to you can take significant time and effort; however, the reasoning used by judges in these cases can be used in persuading others of your rights. MIDDLE SCHOOLS Utah law does not provide for extra-curricular clubs being formed by middle school or junior high school students. However, there are Utah middle schools which allow these clubs to form.23 Unfortunately there is no legal protection under Utah law for students whose middle school does not allow them to form a GSA. Your school’s administrators might decide to support you—so it’s a good idea to persuade them of the benefits of GSAs.
21 East High Gay Straight Alliance v. Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District, 81 F. Supp. 2d 1166 (D. Utah 1999). 22 GSA Court Victories: A Guide for LGBT High School Students. (n.d.). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved April 21, 2020, from https://www.aclu.org/other/gsa-court-victories-guide-lgbt-highschool-students 23 Poritz, I. (2019, October 30). Bridging the Rainbow Divide. Salt Lake City Weekly; Salt Lake City Weekly. https://www.cityweekly.net/ utah/bridging-the-rainbow-divide/Content?oid=14378158
Creating a Culture for Your GSA
The purposes and structure of your GSA are up to you. What do you want your GSA to be? Is it a safe space for members to share their experiences and offer support? Is it a place to form connections with community and create bonds of friendship? Is it a group that encourages advocacy and community engagement? Or is it something else? You get to decide. Plan meetings and activities that will enable your GSA to achieve the goals you set as a group. For example, if your goal is to empower students to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, you could plan to spend some time learning about successful GSAs or other student movements, study different paths for advocacy such as working with your school leaders or elected officials, or prepare members to take part in activism, such as participating in a march or a service project. Many GSAs choose to take part in nation-wide movements, such as the Day of Silence, Ally Week, and No Name Calling Week. These can each be powerful ways to make your efforts visible to your school and engage with the larger community. However, you might choose to forego activities like this if you’d like to maintain a lower profile within your school. Visibility might be a less important goal for your group than providing a space where students can gather and feel safe.
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Leadership Structures
How will decisions be made in your GSA? The table below discusses different leadership structures you could use.
TYPE OF LEADERSHIP
HOW IT WORKS
Majority Rule
Decisions are made by a vote of the entire group.
GSA President
The group chooses a leader who will make decisions for the GSA.
Council
The GSA chooses a few leaders who meet together to make decisions
PROS AND CONS pro: Everyone has a voice con: It’s unwieldy especially for a larger GSA. Decision making can take up too much time pro: The group has a unified voice, and decisions can be made quickly and efficiently con: The president could fail to consider everyone in the group when making decisions pro: Leadership responsibilities are shared, hopefully more representative than a single leader con: The council could become a clique and lead to excluding other members of the GSA
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Responding to Obstacles
You may face obstacles as you set up your GSA. Don’t let it discourage you! If school officials, community members, or other students are opposed to the formation of your GSA, you can be assured that you are doing work that needs to be done to protect yourself and your peers. You are worth the effort! The following tips may be helpful if you encounter pushback to forming your GSA: 1. Do your best to follow the formal requirements to establish a club. Keep a copy of the paperwork you submit. 2. It’s okay to feel angry when someone resists your efforts to protect and embrace LGBTQ+ students. But make sure you treat others with respect and follow school rules—don’t give your opponents an excuse to dismiss your club because of poor behavior. 3. Be persistent. Find out how you can follow up with your application to form a club. If you get a “no,” ask for a written statement of why your application was denied.
4. Gather support from allies. If you don’t know of faculty members at your school who will take up your cause, consider contacting one of the following organizations: the aclu of utah—They have assembled great online resources for Utah students who want to form a GSA.24 In addition, they have filed law suits for Utah students whose GSA applications were denied—and won! pflag—As the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in the US, they are committed to educating communities to “respect, value and affirm LGBTQ+ people.” Members of your local chapter of PFLAG may be willing to advocate with the school district for the creation of your club: www.pflag.org/find-a-chapter
24 American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.). How to Start a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://www.aclu.org/ other/how-start-gay-straight-alliance-gsa
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How Encircle Can Help at Your School
The Encircle Education Program partners members of our Outreach team with school districts to provide ongoing resources such as training for teachers, programs for students and parents, and support for GSAs. Our vision is to support these groups in creating the best possible outcomes for LGBTQ+ students’ health and academic success. The details of what is offered through this partnership will vary between school districts, but may include the following: At school services as well as quarterly events at the Encircle resource center A weekly after school event for students A monthly student event A monthly parent event Faculty trainings
Whether or not your school district has decided to work with Encircle to create these resources, Encircle can support your GSA. If it’s reasonable based on location, GSAs are welcome to attend programs offered by Encircle as a group, or schedule a time to use the resource center as a location for an event created by the GSA. To schedule a GSA meeting at Encircle, enquire in person or send us an email: info@encircletogether.org In addition, Encircle staff members are ready to help you plan and run any of the following activities at your school, either as an event hosted by your GSA, or as a part of another program: Friendship Circles QPR Suicide Prevention Training Encircle LIVE - Speaker series Art workshops Writing Circles Music night Free attendance at the Encircle Summit Encircle also has a number of printed materials including brochures, mini contact cards, and educational pamphlets. You can view the free PDF versions: www.encircletogether.org/resources. If you are interested in having any of these materials in your counseling centers or offices, we will gladly send a volunteer to drop them off. Or if your location is far from an Encircle center, please provide a mailing address and we will send them free of charge.
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Library
