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June 14, 2011

Dear Colleagues:

Harassment and bullying are serious problems in our schools,  and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are the targets of  disproportionate shares of these problems. Thirty-two percent of students aged 12-18 experienced verbal or physical  bullying during the 2007-2008 school year;1 and,  according to a recent survey, more than 90 percent of LGBT students in grades 6  through 12 reported being verbally harassed — and almost half reported being  physically harassed — during the 2008-2009 school year.2 High levels of harassment and bullying correlate  with poorer educational outcomes, lower future aspirations, frequent school  absenteeism, and lower grade-point averages.3Recent tragedies involving LGBT students and  students perceived to be LGBT only underscore the need for safer schools.

Gay-straight alliances (GSAs) and similar student-initiated groups  addressing LGBT issues can play an important role in promoting safer schools  and creating more welcoming learning environments.  Nationwide, students are forming these groups  in part to combat bullying and harassment of LGBT students and to promote understanding  and respect in the school community.   Although the efforts of these groups focus primarily on the needs of LGBT  students, students who have LGBT family members and friends, and students who  are perceived to be LGBT, messages of respect, tolerance, and inclusion benefit  all our students.  By encouraging  dialogue and providing supportive resources, these groups can help make schools  safe and affirming environments for everyone.

But in spite of the positive effect these groups can have in  schools, some such groups have been unlawfully excluded from school grounds,  prevented from forming, or denied access to school resources.  These same barriers have sometimes been used  to target religious and other student groups, leading Congress to pass the  Equal Access Act.

In 1984, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed  into law the Equal Access Act, requiring public secondary schools to provide  equal access for extracurricular clubs.  Rooted  in principles of equal treatment and freedom of expression, the Act protects  student-initiated groups of all types.   As one of my predecessors, Secretary Richard W. Riley, pointed out in  guidance concerning the Equal Access Act and religious clubs more than a decade  ago, we “protect our own freedoms by respecting the freedom of others who  differ from us.”4By allowing students to discuss difficult  issues openly and honestly, in a civil manner, our schools become forums for  combating ignorance, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination.

The Act requires public secondary schools to treat all  student-initiated groups equally, regardless of the religious, political,  philosophical, or other subject matters discussed at their meetings.  Its protections apply to groups that address  issues relating to LGBT students and matters involving sexual orientation and  gender identity, just as they apply to religious and other student groups.

Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s General Counsel,  Charles P. Rose, is issuing a set of legal guidelines affirming the principles  that prevent unlawful discrimination against any student-initiated groups.  We intend for these guidelines to provide  schools with the information and resources they need to help ensure that all  students, including LGBT and gender nonconforming students, have a safe place  to learn, meet, share experiences, and discuss matters that are important to  them.

Although specific implementation of the Equal Access Act  depends upon contextual circumstances, these guidelines reflect basic  obligations imposed on public school officials by the Act and the First  Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The  general rule, approved by the U.S. Supreme Court, is that a public high school  that allows at least one noncurricular student group to meet on school grounds  during noninstructional time (*e.g.*,  lunch, recess, or before or after school) may not deny similar access to other  noncurricular student groups, regardless of the religious, political,  philosophical, or other subject matters that the groups address.

I encourage every school district to make sure that its administrators,  faculty members, staff, students, and parents are familiar with these  principles in order to protect the rights of all students — regardless of  religion, political or philosophical views, sexual orientation, or gender  identity.  I also urge school districts  to use the guidelines to develop or improve district policies.  In doing so, school officials may find it  helpful to explain to the school community that the Equal Access Act requires  public schools to afford equal treatment to all noncurricular student  organizations, including GSAs and other groups that focus on issues related to LGBT  students, sexual orientation, or gender identity.  Officials need not endorse any particular  student organization, but federal law requires that they afford all student  groups the same opportunities to form, to convene on school grounds, and to  have access to the same resources available to other student groups.

The process of revising or developing an equal-access policy  offers an opportunity for school officials to engage their community in an open  dialogue on the equal treatment of all noncurricular student  organizations.  It is important to  remember, therefore, that the Equal Access Act’s requirements are a bare legal  minimum.  I invite and encourage you to  go beyond what the law requires in order to increase students’ sense of  belonging in the school and to help students, teachers, and parents recognize  the core values behind our principles of free speech.  As noted in our October 2010 Dear Colleague Letter and December 2010 guidance regarding anti-bullying policies, I applaud  such policies as positive steps toward ensuring equal access to education for  all students.

Thank you for your work on behalf of our nation’s children.



| | Sincerely, 
| | -----------
| | /s/        
| | Arne Duncan

Enclosure download filesMS Word (43 K)

1Dinkes, R., Kemp, J., and Baum, K. (2010). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2010. (NCES 2010-012/NCJ 228478). 42 National Center for Education Statistics: Washington, DC.

2Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Diaz, E. M., and Bartkiewicz, M. J. (2010). The 2009 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in our nation’s schools, 26, New York: GLSEN.

3GLSEN, at 46-8.

4U.S.  Department of Education, “Secretary’s Guidelines on Religious Expression in  Public Schools,” August 1995.