ABSTRACT
All students have a right to be safe at school. Viewed through this lens, it is difficult to understand the high rates of harassment and bullying that exist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students. Schools can take the necessary steps to create safe school climates for all students, in place of those that foster or tolerate discrimination, bullying, or harassment. Before introducing programming aimed at improving the safety of LGBTQ students, information should be gathered about general bullying occurring on campus and actions directed specifically at this population. T. Draughn, B. Elkins, and R. Roy provide a list of issues to cover during a needs assessment focusing on LGBTQ student safety: resources, prevalence of bullying, types of bullying and victimization occurring, locations where bullying occurs, and types of responses to incidents. Several bullying prevention programs include ready-to-use classroom activities and lessons, requiring teachers to be active agents in program implementation.
