In this issue of Social Policy Report, authors Russell, Kosciw, Horn, and Saewyc review the research on LGBTQ youth and illuminate a fundamental challenge facing researchers, educators, students, families, and policymakers. They write that “homophobia and LGBTQ prejudice are daily experiences” and that the challenge facing educators is to “design supportive school climates that promote the positive development of LGBTQ and all students.” There exists in this country and in many countries around the world a huge gulf between acceptance of LGBTQ individuals and creating supportive school and work environments for all individuals. The reality is that in many communities and schools there is a profound intolerance for LGBTQ youth, in particular, and for people who are perceived as different from the normative culture. The question of the day becomes, can safe school policies really change the climate that promotes and supports homophobic beliefs

Swearer Napolitano, Susan M.

English

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Educational Psychology Papers and 
Publications Educational Psychology, Department of 
2010 
Safe Schools Policies: Necessary but not Sufficient for Creating 
Positive School Environments for LGBTQ Students [Commentary] 
Susan M. Swearer Napolitano 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sswearernapolitano1@unl.edu 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/edpsychpapers 
 Part of the Educational Psychology Commons 
Swearer Napolitano, Susan M., "Safe Schools Policies: Necessary but not Sufficient for Creating Positive 
School Environments for LGBTQ Students [Commentary]" (2010). Educational Psychology Papers and 
Publications. 149. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/edpsychpapers/149 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Educational Psychology, Department of at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Psychology 
Papers and Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
Social Policy Report V24 #4 19 Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ Students
Commentary
Safe Schools Policies 
Necessary but not Sufficient for Creating  
Positive School Environments for LGBTQ Students
Susan M. Swearer
University of Nebraska—Lincoln
I
n this issue of Social Policy 
Report, authors Russell, 
Kosciw, Horn, and Saewyc 
review the research on LGBTQ 
youth and illuminate a funda-
mental challenge facing re-
searchers, educators, students, fami-
lies, and policymakers. They write 
that “homophobia 
and LGBTQ preju-
dice are daily 
experiences” (p. 
3) and that the 
challenge facing 
educators is to 
“design supportive 
school climates 
that promote the 
positive development of  
LGBTQ and all students” (p. 3). There 
exists in this country and in many 
countries around the world a huge 
gulf between acceptance of LGBTQ 
individuals and creating supportive 
school and work environments for 
all individuals. The reality is that in 
many communities and schools there 
is a profound intolerance for LGBTQ 
youth, in particular, and for people 
who are perceived as different from 
the normative culture (Swearer, 
Turner, Givens, & Pollack, 2008). The 
question of the day becomes, can 
safe school policies really change the 
climate that promotes and supports 
homophobic beliefs?
In the past decade research on 
bullying has exponentially increased 
in the U.S. and world-wide. Current-
ly, forty-three states have passed 
anti-bullying legislation that ranges 
from mandating prevention and 
intervention programming, assess-
ment of bullying, and consequences 
for bullying (Espelage & Swearer, in 
press). The proliferation of anti-
bullying policies is a result of the 
increased evidence-base regarding 
the association between bully-
ing and negative mental health, 
health, and academic consequences 
(Swearer, Espelage, & Napolitano, 
2009). However, will increased 
legislative attention translate to 
better protection and support for 
LGBTQ and all students?
In 2003, we asserted that bul-
lying should be examined “within 
special populations such as GLBT 
youth, students in special educa-
tion, and ethnically diverse youth” 
(Espelage & Swearer, 2003, p. 378). 
In the past decade research on bul-
lying has focused on consequences 
of bullying and forms of bullying. 
Less research has addressed bullying 
among and toward specific groups of 
students. A paucity of research has 
examined the complex social-ecolog-
ical influences on bullying. Research 
has suggested 
that individuals 
are bullied be-
cause they are 
different from 
the norm. These 
differences are 
idiosyncratic to 
the norms of the 
community and 
the school. How do educators rise to 
the challenge of teaching tolerance 
and respect for differences when 
perceived differences fuel engage-
ment in bullying behaviors? Will 
these federal policies trickle down 
to the individual school level and 
help change the climate that sup-
ports the oppression and harassment 
of LGBTQ students and students who 
are perceived as different?
The hope is that federal poli-
cies will provide the foundation that 
will change homophobic beliefs, 
increase support toward LGBTQ stu-
dents, and influence state and local 
policymakers. Hopefully, this social 
policy report will serve as a catalyst 
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to 
one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the 
oppression or persecution of others.
—John F. Kennedy
Swearer in Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge (2010) 24(4). Copyright 2010, Society for Research in Child Development. Used by permission.
Social Policy Report V24 #4 20 Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ Students
for research on the complex relation-
ship between homophobia and school 
and community environments. Social 
mores and norms in communities and 
schools influence policies, programs, 
and the culture of neighborhoods, 
schools, and communities. Research 
on bullying, harassment, and LGBTQ 
students has guided policy makers to 
provide specific protection for LGBTQ 
students in schools. This is vital for 
creating safe schools for all students. 
Future research can guide our under-
standing of the complex relationship 
between policies and attitudinal 
change and behavior. Creating safe 
and supportive schools for all stu-
dents is critical for the well-being of 
future generations.
Federal, state, and local poli-
cies are necessary for changing the 
culture of bullying toward students; 
however, they are not sufficient for 
changing the culture of homopho-
bia that pervades many schools and 
communities. In the final analysis, 
bullying toward LGBTQ students and 
all students will only cease when 
we as a society have successfully 
educated a generation of youth who 
truly accept, support, and respect 
differences.
References
Espelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. 
(2003). Research on school bullying 
and victimization: What have we 
learned and where do we go from 
here? School Psychology Review, 32, 
365-383.
Espelage, D. L, & Swearer, S.M. (in 
press). Bullying in North American 
schools. UK: Routledge
Swearer, S. M., Espleage, D. L., & 
Napolitano, S. A. (2009). Bullying 
prevention and intervention: Realis-
tic strategies for schools. New York: 
The Guilford Press.
Swearer, S. M., Turner, R. K., Givens, J. 
E., & Pollack, W. S. (2008). “You’re 
so gay!”: Do different forms of bul-
lying matter for adolescent males? 
School Psychology Review, 37, 
160-173.
Swearer in Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge (2010) 24(4). Copyright 2010, Society for Research in Child Development. Used by permission.
Social Policy Report V24 #4 24 Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ Students
Stephen T. Russell, Ph.D., is Professor and Fitch Nes-
bitt Endowed Chair in Family and Consumer Sciences in 
the John & Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer 
Sciences at the University of Arizona, and Director of 
the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, 
and Families. Stephen conducts research on cultural 
influences on parent-adolescent relationships, ado-
lescent sexuality, and the health and development of 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. 
He received a Wayne F. Placek Award from the American 
Psychological Foundation (2000), was a William T. Grant 
Foundation Scholar (2001-2006), a board member of the 
National Council on Family Relations (2005-2008), and 
was elected as a member of the International Academy 
of Sex Research in 2004. He is President-Elect of the 
Society for Research on Adolescence.
Elizabeth Saewyc, Ph.D., P.H.N., RN, holds one of 17 
national Chairs in Applied Public Health in Canada, hers 
focused on adolescent health; she is Professor of Nurs-
ing and Adolescent Medicine, at the University of British 
Columbia and Research Director of the McCreary Centre 
Society in Vancouver. Her research focuses on health is-
sues of youth, with a particular emphasis on understand-
ing the links between stigma, violence, and trauma, 
how these influence teens’ coping and risk behaviours, 
and the protective factors in relationships and environ-
ments that can influence the health of vulnerable young 
people. The particular groups of young people include 
sexual minority youth (gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-
gender teens), homeless and runaway youth, sexually-
abused and sexually-exploited teens, pregnant and 
parenting adolescents, youth in custody, and indigenous 
young people in Canada and other countries.
Susan M. Swearer, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of 
School Psychology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. 
She is the principal investigator on the Target Bullying: 
Ecologically-Based Prevention and Intervention project 
(www.targetbully.com) and has a long-standing track 
record working with schools and districts nationwide to 
reduce bullying behaviors. Over the past decade she has 
collected data and conducted staff training in elemen-
tary, middle, and high schools, with the goal of helping 
school personnel establish cost-effective and data-based 
strategies to reduce bullying behaviors. She has authored 
over 100 book chapters and articles on the topics of 
bullying, depression, and anxiety in school-aged youth. 
As a licensed psychologist, she is the co-director of the 
Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychol-
ogy and is a supervising psychologist in the Child and 
Adolescent Therapy Clinic at UNL.
Swearer in Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge (2010) 24(4). Copyright 2010, Society for Research in Child Development. Used by permission.


Safe Schools Policies: Necessary but not Sufficient for Creating Positive School Environments for LGBTQ Students [Commentary]

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Educational Psychology Papers and Publications Educational Psychology, Department of 2010 Safe Schools Policies: Necessary but not Sufficient for Creating Positive School Environments for LGBTQ Students [Commentary] Susan M. Swearer Napolitano University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sswearernapolitano1@unl.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/edpsychpapers  Part of the Educational Psychology Commons Swearer Napolitano, Susan M., "Safe Schools Policies: Necessary but not Sufficient for Creating Positive School Environments for LGBTQ Students [Commentary]" (2010). Educational Psychology Papers and Publications. 149. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/edpsychpapers/149 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Educational Psychology, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Psychology Papers and Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Social Policy Report V24 #4 19 Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ StudentsCommentarySafe Schools Policies Necessary but not Sufficient for Creating  Positive School Environments for LGBTQ StudentsSusan M. SwearerUniversity of Nebraska—LincolnIn this issue of Social Policy Report, authors Russell, Kosciw, Horn, and Saewyc review the research on LGBTQ youth and illuminate a funda-mental challenge facing re-searchers, educators, students, fami-lies, and policymakers. They write that “homophobia and LGBTQ preju-dice are daily experiences” (p. 3) and that the challenge facing educators is to “design supportive school climates that promote the positive development of  LGBTQ and all students” (p. 3). There exists in this country and in many countries around the world a huge gulf between acceptance of LGBTQ individuals and creating supportive school and work environments for all individuals. The reality is that in many communities and schools there is a profound intolerance for LGBTQ youth, in particular, and for people who are perceived as different from the normative culture (Swearer, Turner, Givens, & Pollack, 2008). The question of the day becomes, can safe school policies really change the climate that promotes and supports homophobic beliefs?In the past decade research on bullying has exponentially increased in the U.S. and world-wide. Current-ly, forty-three states have passed anti-bullying legislation that ranges from mandating prevention and intervention programming, assess-ment of bullying, and consequences for bullying (Espelage & Swearer, in press). The proliferation of anti-bullying policies is a result of the increased evidence-base regarding the association between bully-ing and negative mental health, health, and academic consequences (Swearer, Espelage, & Napolitano, 2009). However, will increased legislative attention translate to better protection and support for LGBTQ and all students?In 2003, we asserted that bul-lying should be examined “within special populations such as GLBT youth, students in special educa-tion, and ethnically diverse youth” (Espelage & Swearer, 2003, p. 378). In the past decade research on bul-lying has focused on consequences of bullying and forms of bullying. Less research has addressed bullying among and toward specific groups of students. A paucity of research has examined the complex social-ecolog-ical influences on bullying. Research has suggested that individuals are bullied be-cause they are different from the norm. These differences are idiosyncratic to the norms of the community and the school. How do educators rise to the challenge of teaching tolerance and respect for differences when perceived differences fuel engage-ment in bullying behaviors? Will these federal policies trickle down to the individual school level and help change the climate that sup-ports the oppression and harassment of LGBTQ students and students who are perceived as different?The hope is that federal poli-cies will provide the foundation that will change homophobic beliefs, increase support toward LGBTQ stu-dents, and influence state and local policymakers. Hopefully, this social policy report will serve as a catalyst Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.—John F. KennedySwearer in Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge (2010) 24(4). Copyright 2010, Society for Research in Child Development. Used by permission.Social Policy Report V24 #4 20 Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ Studentsfor research on the complex relation-ship between homophobia and school and community environments. Social mores and norms in communities and schools influence policies, programs, and the culture of neighborhoods, schools, and communities. Research on bullying, harassment, and LGBTQ students has guided policy makers to provide specific protection for LGBTQ students in schools. This is vital for creating safe schools for all students. Future research can guide our under-standing of the complex relationship between policies and attitudinal change and behavior. Creating safe and supportive schools for all stu-dents is critical for the well-being of future generations.Federal, state, and local poli-cies are necessary for changing the culture of bullying toward students; however, they are not sufficient for changing the culture of homopho-bia that pervades many schools and communities. In the final analysis, bullying toward LGBTQ students and all students will only cease when we as a society have successfully educated a generation of youth who truly accept, support, and respect differences.ReferencesEspelage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (2003). Research on school bullying and victimization: What have we learned and where do we go from here? School Psychology Review, 32, 365-383.Espelage, D. L, & Swearer, S.M. (in press). Bullying in North American schools. UK: RoutledgeSwearer, S. M., Espleage, D. L., & Napolitano, S. A. (2009). Bullying prevention and intervention: Realis-tic strategies for schools. New York: The Guilford Press.Swearer, S. M., Turner, R. K., Givens, J. E., & Pollack, W. S. (2008). “You’re so gay!”: Do different forms of bul-lying matter for adolescent males? School Psychology Review, 37, 160-173.Swearer in Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge (2010) 24(4). Copyright 2010, Society for Research in Child Development. Used by permission.Social Policy Report V24 #4 24 Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ StudentsStephen T. Russell, Ph.D., is Professor and Fitch Nes-bitt Endowed Chair in Family and Consumer Sciences in the John & Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona, and Director of the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families. Stephen conducts research on cultural influences on parent-adolescent relationships, ado-lescent sexuality, and the health and development of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. He received a Wayne F. Placek Award from the American Psychological Foundation (2000), was a William T. Grant Foundation Scholar (2001-2006), a board member of the National Council on Family Relations (2005-2008), and was elected as a member of the International Academy of Sex Research in 2004. He is President-Elect of the Society for Research on Adolescence.Elizabeth Saewyc, Ph.D., P.H.N., RN, holds one of 17 national Chairs in Applied Public Health in Canada, hers focused on adolescent health; she is Professor of Nurs-ing and Adolescent Medicine, at the University of British Columbia and Research Director of the McCreary Centre Society in Vancouver. Her research focuses on health is-sues of youth, with a particular emphasis on understand-ing the links between stigma, violence, and trauma, how these influence teens’ coping and risk behaviours, and the protective factors in relationships and environ-ments that can influence the health of vulnerable young people. The particular groups of young people include sexual minority youth (gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender teens), homeless and runaway youth, sexually-abused and sexually-exploited teens, pregnant and parenting adolescents, youth in custody, and indigenous young people in Canada and other countries.Susan M. Swearer, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of School Psychology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is the principal investigator on the Target Bullying: Ecologically-Based Prevention and Intervention project (www.targetbully.com) and has a long-standing track record working with schools and districts nationwide to reduce bullying behaviors. Over the past decade she has collected data and conducted staff training in elemen-tary, middle, and high schools, with the goal of helping school personnel establish cost-effective and data-based strategies to reduce bullying behaviors. She has authored over 100 book chapters and articles on the topics of bullying, depression, and anxiety in school-aged youth. As a licensed psychologist, she is the co-director of the Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychol-ogy and is a supervising psychologist in the Child and Adolescent Therapy Clinic at UNL.Swearer in Sharing Child and Youth Development Knowledge (2010) 24(4). Copyright 2010, Society for Research in Child Development. Used by permission.

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