That rate is even higher for transgender students. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual students are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. The rainbow flag is a welcoming symbol of love to students who may not always feel that at school, in the community, or even in their own home. Students who are not LGBTQ also know they have entered a space where bullying will not be tolerated.
When an LGBTQ student or students from LGBTQ families see a rainbow flag, they know they have entered a safe space. The LGBTQ Pride flag is a symbol of inclusion that is welcoming to all. We believe they are wrong and have misconstrued the meaning of the LGBTQ Pride flag. Many who are opposed are saying this is promoting sex and politics in the classroom and that it is divisive. “We have heard about the controversy that has occurred in the nearby Bluffton Harrison School District over a rainbow flag hanging in an eighth grade classroom. Yates says that the school board hasn’t had the discussion of what is controversial or not.įort Wayne Pride issued the following statement on its Facebook page regarding the incident: The goal, the letter said, was to “develop a policy to clearly identify topics considered controversial and outline the buildings and/or grade levels in which controversial topics would not be permitted.”īluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District has more than 1,700 students enrolled.
