August 27, 2003
Dear Mr. Quigley,
Please know
that this district does not discriminate against any
student. That includes gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered students.
Sincerely,
Bob Moore,
Superintendent,
Oklahoma City Public Schools
Click here
for full text
Oklahoma
City Public Schools
Oklahoma
State Department of Education
GLSEN:
Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network
PFLAG:
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Lambda
Legal
ACLU:
American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU of
Oklahoma
|
x
The following is
an email from Joe Quigley.
(Posted 10-1-08)
(9-28-08)
During the initial years that the School Board of
Oklahoma City was being approached to have inservices
for teachers about Gay students in our schools just
as they had inservices regarding all other student
groups, and were constantly made aware that the Board
policy that included Gay students in protections
against discrimination, bullying, and harassment
needed to be made clear in the Student and Parent
Handbook, the strategy to keep the process as
comfortable as possible for those in charge of the
district, rather than being appreciated for its
politeness was used by some to conveniently hide
their disinterest and reluctance to do the right
thing.
When letters and accounts of this began to appear on
GayOKC.com that comfort zone was removed, and people
had to begin getting serious as they were not looking
too good to the public and the other local media.
Things began to change.
As some who were obstructing progress began to be
exposed, their behavior changed, and some - in spite
of the existing record - even went so far as to
attempt to re-write history so that they would appear
to have been on the right side much longer than they
really had been.
GayOKC.com was instrumental throughout the process
not only as a media outlet, but its owner and editor
became one of the few people who constantly went to
Board meetings to advocate for our Gay students.
Although the language the Board finally accepted did
not list "sexual orientation" specifically,
the chosen wording, thanks to some of those who
advocated, became inclusive not only of Gay students,
but of those other students who would have been left
out if those two words were the only ones inserted.
Where the board was reluctant to make Gay student
inclusion clear in these policies, and seemed to make
no attempt to address their objection that adding
these words would result in excluding others, those
who advocated for the Gay students solved this
dilemma for them.
I am glad that much of what happened during that time
is now available to anyone who might wish to review
the events conveniently.
Joe Quigley
2000 - 2001
School Year
2001 - 2002
School Year
2002 - 2003
School Year
2003 - 2004
School Year
2004 - 2005
School Year
2005 - 2006
School Year
In-service
concerns (Posted 10-6-05)
Quigley
update (Posted 10-26-05)
The
committee (Posted 11-10-05)
Progress?
(Posted 11-11-05)
ADOPT-A-SCHOOL?
(Posted 2-8-06)
QUIGLEY:
INEQUITY REARS ITS RELIGIOUS HEAD (Posted 2-19-06)
STATE
DEPARMENT OF EDUCATION REMOVES SEXUAL
ORIENTATION PROTECTIONS (Posted 3-28-06)
2006 - 2007
School Year
|
