ABSTRACT
Setting a standard for policies that have been advocated since the early 1980s, the Massachusetts model is unprecedented in scope and cogency. Its recommendations, programs, laws, and regulations are a major advancement for the welfare of gay and lesbian youth. Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) has come to represent the flagships of the Safe Schools Program. The absence of a specific line item successfully protected the program from political attack; however, it also necessitated repeated lobbying of the executive branch and the Department of Education (DOE) to spend the money as promised. This arrangement might have been politically palatable, but it invited intrigue in the governor's office and state agencies. Many schools have harassment policies to which they may add sexual orientation protections and sensible enforcement procedures. A school should echo the language of municipal and state laws, where they exist, while couching its regulations in a school ethic of caring and multicultural respect.
