Rather than truly being out of "concern" for the safety of children, it feels like the inability to discuss the LGBTQ+ community with children really just feels like a desire to continue perpetuating a heteronormative society. This may in turn cause a lack of acceptance when they encounter those that are different later on, or self resentment if they believe themselves to be "different" from others.

This is really relatable on my own experiences as well. It has felt like "coming out" isn't necessarily an entire event, but rather something that happens multiple times. I've told my mom multiple times how I've felt about my own sexuality, and she hasn't believed me, even though I've been talking to her about it since high school.

These rates are dishearteningly low; the fact that educators allow this sort of hate speech to continue is insane. In not saying anything, these staff members are unintentionally complicit in perpetuating this hate.

This feels like such a shallow, surface-level change that feels almost insincere to Gunn's death. Changes like this merely serve to minimize the change, reducing these concepts into something that feels like ridicule. In order to truly make a change, deeper acts must be made, such as informing students of the importance of acceptance, or emphaiszing a need to be inclusive of everyone.

This rationality feels almost contradictory to me, where despite how they feel sexuality isn't important, adults oftentimes enforce heteronormativity on children, such as calling a boy-girl pairing "boyfriend and girlfriend", or only presenting literature with heterosexual pairings. Regardless of what is "wanted", sexuality is already a part of day-to-day life.

As someone who identifies as transgender and whose parents aren't really supportive, it's really comforting to hear that this newer generation of parents is more ready to advocate for their children. It's really crucial for children to have a support system they can fall back on, and one's family is a really crucial component to allowing one to feel seen.

This seems like a better approach to changing the dynamic is schools-- rather than isolating specific scenarios or phrases that may be said, it may help to instead target a student's mentality altogether, allowing them to see the broader picture as opposed to isolated situations.

It really is concerning how normalized gender dynamics are, especially amongst younger children, such as splitting teams up by gender or just overall establishing this sense of competition between them. Considering just how young these children are, it's clear that it would impact their development and how they think, allowing them to think that these gender roles or stereotypes are normal and okay.

It's really frustrating how despite the thousands of families who sue the Education Department each year, it seems that these issues keep perpetuating. I wonder if there have been (or can be) significant attempts to make these changes, or if these families are merely going to continue in this cycle.

Despite this law, it seems difficult to enforce that, especially when considering the fact that in New York alone, their digital database is prone to errors and glitches and can't verify whether or not students are truly receiving what they need. I feel like there should be some system that holds them more accountable to fulfilling these needs.

If these issues are so costly, I feel like there should be an attempt to at least hold schools accountable to manually report whether what they are receiving is adequate or not, as some sort of backup in response to these issues. If students aren't getting the resources they need, it'll become difficult to ensure the success of all of them.

I find it really sad that this is the general outlook on children who are disabled or special needs. Rather than identifying their situation as a "problem", it should instead be approached in an easier and kinder way. This sort of approach I feel could unintentionally be demeaning to the student, impacting their own self-image on things they really can't control.

I find this definition of identity to be especially beautiful, as it acknowledges that someone's identity isn't merely one thing or another-- it's a blend of many different, sometimes contradictory, components that all create a singular being.

Beyond just workshops, I believe it's important to simply spread general resources as to how crucial an individual's rights are, and what is or is not considered a disability. Having all these factors in mind, only then can an individual make the best decision for them.

I find it so interesting how despite this clear need for help, students not only do not receive these services, the ones who don't are deemed instead to be emotionally or intellectually disabled. It feels really unfair to students to receive this sort of treatment, and it definitely would not help with their learning.