LGBTQ Resources

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June is Pride Month! Celebrate by learning more about how to support LGBTQ+ Students.

ASCA's ethical and professional standards clearly outline the imperative that school counselors address barriers to student success.  The ethical standards state "School Counselors respect students' and families' values, beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identification/expression and cultural background and exercise great care to avoid imposing personal beliefs or values rooted in one's religion, culture, or ethnicity. The ASCA National Model also requires school counselors to be leaders, advocates, agents of systemic change, and collaborators. We cannot be all of these things without addressing our biases and the institutional structure/policies that create barriers for our students. Below are links to resources meant to support your work in school counseling programming and personal/professional development.

What Does LGBTQ+ Mean? LGBTQ+ is an acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer” with a "+" sign to recognize the limitless sexual orientations and gender identities used by members of our community (definition from The Human Rights Campaign, see link below).

Check out The Human Rights Campaign Glossary of Terms for an expansive list of terms that can be used to support LGBTQ+ individuals.

Genderbread Person - The "Genderbread Person" can be used to help understand the gender as a concept. This resource is most appropriate for school counselors and educators to understand gender and not for use with PK-12 students in Iowa.

American School Counseling Association (ASCA) Position Statements & Resources

Educator Resources

Caregiver Resources

Links to State of Iowa resources

Links to National resources

Resources for Students