Nikhil Vashee

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Pride, prejudice and PTA meetings: A guide for LGBTQ+ families this school year

From school supply shopping to navigating new routines, back-to-school season is a busy time for families filled with anticipation, coordination, and first-day-of-school jitters.  But, for LGBTQ+ families facing increasing threats from school boards and statehouses alike, there’s an extra layer of worry to contend with.  Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. So, what do you need to know about the current landscape for LGBTQ+ familiesin schools — and what can you do to help? Family Equality, the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families, has the […]

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LGBTQ+ families face a harder school year — but they are not powerless

It’s back-to-school time, and for LGBTQ+ parents and their children — who remain on the front lines of the fight over whose families belong in the classroom — there are reasons for concern going into the new year, as well as reasons for hope. Two recent Supreme Court decisions have shaped a new reality for LGBTQ+ families in the classroom. The first, Mahmoud v. Taylor, challenged elementary school lessons that featured LGBTQ+ characters in storybooks. In this case, the Court gave some parents new grounds to seek exemptions from instruction that conflicts with their religious beliefs, and school boards, administrators, and teachers now must […]