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Introduction xix mention gay kids. Research has shown that it is important to specifically address LGBTQ issues and not leave them as an afterthought. Teacher training hopefully results in teachers actively making their classrooms “safe spaces” that is, safe zones where all children are protected from bul- lying and harassment. It would be great if the entire school property were a safe zone, but realistically, safety for all can be enforced only in spaces supervised by faculty and staff. The right for LGBTQ students to attend their high-school prom has been a legal battleground for decades. Some very public skirmishes involving gay and lesbian youths wanting to attend their prom with their same-sex dates have led the American Civil Liberties Union and other legal groups to intercede. Ultimately, it has been decided that LGBTQ students cannot be denied attendance to their school prom and that they are empowered to bring a date of any gender, and to wear clothing that best meets their iden- tity (meaning that girls cannot be forced to wear dresses and boys to wear tuxedos). Similarly, transgender students have the right to wear clothing that meets their identity and cannot be forced to wear clothing matching their gender at birth. There are a number of policies that can make schools safer for all stu- dents. Currently pending in Congress is the Student Nondiscrimination Act. Its objective is to provide protection from discrimination for all youths in public schools. Unfortunately opponents to the bill think that it over- reaches and attempts to classify any speech in opposition to homosexual- ity and LGBTQ issues as harassment and bullying. As such, the bill has been stalled in committee for years. Research has clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of specifying antibullying policies. Saying that a school is safe without implementing specific policies is not enough. Finally, a hot item is the controversy of transgender students using the bathroom of their choice. Some states have mandated that students must use bathrooms that correspond with the sex assigned to them at birth. **** Cassandra Scherr, a women’s studies and gender studies instructor at the University of North Dakota, delves deeper into the transgender bath- room controversy in “The Transgender Bathroom Question: What Makes a Healthy Society?” Some states, such as North Carolina, have passed bills that prohibit people from using public bathrooms that do not conform to the gender specified on their birth certificate. As such, it discriminates against transgender people who want to use public bathrooms that best match their gender presentation. Enforcing such a ban becomes impossible.