Nurturing a Rainbow of Resistance to Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws.

This article explores the rise of laws targeting LGBTQ+ youth and their detrimental effects on students, teachers, and schools. It highlights recent legislation aimed at censoring LGBTQ+ curriculum, prohibiting transgender student athletes, and criminalizing doctors and families who support transgender medical care. The article stresses the significance of teaching LGBTQ+ history and resistance in classrooms to counteract the culture of invisibility perpetuated by the exclusion of LGBTQ+ lives and activism. It presents case studies of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and the subsequent resistance, including the banning of the song "Rainbowland" in a 1st-grade classroom and the book banning of "George/Melissa." The article concludes by discussing the Newberg School Board's ban on Black Lives Matter and pride symbols and the community's efforts to overturn the ban. It also highlights a unit on LGBTQ+ issues taught by educators Linda Christensen and Blair Ames, which covers topics such as anti-trans laws, trans history, and the experiences of trans students. The students in the class engage in discussions, read testimonies from trans students, and develop demands for creating more inclusive and safe schools for LGBTQ+ students. The article underscores the importance of education and advocacy in fostering a more equitable and inclusive society. [Extracted from the article]