By: Susan Oser
NFBPWC Advocacy Team LGBTQ+ Lead 

LGBTQ+ Advocacy Team: Amanda L Collier, DC, PA Affiliate Chapter Member 

It seems like national politics are dominating our news stations, papers, and social media  feed. Not uncommon in a presidential election year, we can easily lose sight of how local  actions are making a difference in the lives of our children. 

School boards around the country are developing policies that restrict personal  expressions, particularly if that person is of the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier this year, we saw Florida  lawmakers work to ban pride flags in schools with FL HB901 (24R), by associating pride flags with a political  stance. The well publicized “Don’t Say Gay” law restricts far more than flags throughout the state of Florida.  Statewide and national laws often become well known news stories, but what about rules made directly at the  school board level. These restrictive policies rarely make news, and few people attend local school board  meetings on a regular basis. 

In my small town of Berwick, PA, politics are generally conservative, and our recent school board election  proved that. Election posters spouted sayings like “Parental Rights,” “Don’t Experiment On Our Children,”  and others pushing for removal of Critical Race Theory from our schools. (There is no class in our schools that  currently teaches Critical Race Theory.) For the last 3 months, The Berwick School Board has been debating a  rule to remove all flags from the classroom, except for the American flag, flags for state and local governments,  the Armed Forces and school sanctioned activities. Any other flags would be prohibited on school grounds. 

Despite a robust turnout of parents and community members speaking against the rule, it passed the board  on Monday, October 15th with only two members voting against the measure. It is important to note that one  of the two nay votes was because the measure didn’t go far enough by banning pride flags on cars in the  parking lot as well. 

Although Northeastern Pennsylvania is known for being a conservative area, our more progressive areas  around Philadelphia are not immune to these measures. Two schools in Bucks County, Central Bucks and  Penridge, faced lawsuits after banning Pride flags in the last two years. 

So, what can we do to support our LGBTQ+ youth and let them know that they are safe in our communities? 

1. Join a local parent’s group. Even if you are not a parent, many of these groups need allies and  volunteers. If you can’t make every meeting, you can volunteer at special events or even just share the  events on social media. Find an organization near you at pflag.orgor  https://www.strongfamilyalliance.org/ 

2. Vote in your local school board elections. They may not make national news, but they make  policies that affect our youth. 

3. Go to a local school board meeting. Just like all politicians, school board members work for us  and should be held accountable for their actions. 

4. Consider flying a pride flag in your place of employment. If you don’t have the option of hanging  a flag, you can wear a pin to let everyone know you are an ally. 

Sources: 

Central Bucks moves forward with policy censoring classroom decor and discussions — despite federal  investigation - https://whyy.org/articles/central-bucks-school-district-pride-flag-ban-lgbtq-advocacy policy-321/

Why We’re Taking Legal Action - Again - Against the Central Bucks School District https://www.aclupa.org/en/news/why-were-taking-legal-action-again-against-central-bucks-school district 

HB 901: Display of Flags by Governmental Entities - https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/901#:~:text=Display%20of%20Flags%20by%20Governmental %20Entities%3B%20Prohibits%20certain%20governmental%20entities,States%20flag%20in%20certain% 20position.  

New Berwick policy bans Pride flags in school, causes outrage among LGBTQ allies - https://www.wvia.org/news/local/2024-10-15/new-berwick-policy-bans-pride-flags-in-school causes-outrage-among-lgbtq-allies 

LGBTQ+ Dates for November – 

November is Trans Awareness Month 

November 6 - Transgender Parent Day 

November 8 - Intersex Day of Remembrance 

November 13-19 - Trans Awareness Week 

November 20 - Transgender Day of Remembrance 

Good LGBTQ+ News– 

800 service members kicked out under DADT just got discharges upgraded to honorable - https://tinyurl.com/mst5cuwp 

These 5 LGBTQ+ business leaders are transforming the world - https://tinyurl.com/3bwaenzm 

21 transgender and nonbinary politicians making history in state legislatures - https://tinyurl.com/yc37bece 

Helplines 

The Trevor Project: (866) 488-7386 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255 

Ali Forney Day Center: (212) 206-0574 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Info: (800) 342-AIDS (2437), Spanish service: (800) 344- 7432, TDD service for the deaf: (800) 243-7889, [10:00am till 10:00pm EST, Monday through Friday] 

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline: (888) 843-4564 

The GLBT National Youth Talkline (youth serving youth through age 25): (800) 246-7743 The National Runaway Switchboard: (800) RUNAWAY (786-2929) 

If you have any news or leads on anything related to LGBTQ+ news, issues, and organizations, please contact  Sue Oser at soser@nfbpwc.org. If you would like to help Susan educate on these issues, please let her know  as well. She is also available for presentations and any questions you may have.