Missouri GSA Network

New Campaign Campaigns

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  Help Me Fight Against Schools Punishing People For Standing Up for What's Right

  Schools shouldn't punish students for standing up for justice. I was fighting for my civil rights and my rights as a human being and that is why the issues surrounding Ferguson and Racism itself are important to me. I believe the school also needs to adopt better alternatives other than suspension, expulsion, and detention because this is not helping people's education but set them up for things like incarceration and pushing them away from school. This is not the first time that people of color have been unfairly targeted. We have been punished more than most of the white kids have been even though we are not behaving worse. It is important to work together and find solutions and it has been proven that current punishments do not work. Not only am I targeted but people with disabilities, other people of color, people who Identify as trans*, and much more are affected by schools current practices. We need to work together.

  338 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Reimi C.
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  Let the McKinley GSA have a pride week leading up to the Day of Silence!

  Many people do not remember the Day of Silence or do not know anything about it. A pride week is a great way to make people aware of the Day of Silence as well as the school GSA.

  123 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Malena M.
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  Add Gender Identity / Expression to the NDO

  All students/faculty/staff should be able to bring their full-selves to work and class every day by adding this protected class we can further ensure this is the case.

  17 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Caleb-Michael F.
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  Support Comprehensive Inclusive Sex Education Revisions in Parkway School District

  Because Students health, safety and even lives could be in danger without this type of education. Bad information leads to poor ability to make decisions and leaving students without tools needed to handle what happens when those decisions are made. We need all the information when it comes to sexual health, not just some of it.

  571 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Asher M.
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  Uphold Parkway Sex Ed

  In the Spring of 2016, the Parkway Board of Education voted to bring changes to the Sexual Education Curriculum to make it inclusive. But it is still under attack. The Parkway School Board now has a conservative majority. We must tell them that we NEED Sex Ed to keep us safe. Please sign to stand with Parkway Students.

  576 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Andrew B.
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  Students Need Solutions: Adopt Restorative Practices

  In November 2013, Jewlyes Gutierrez, a transgender girl from California, was outrageously charged with assault for defending herself against bullying at school. A year earlier, Dynasty Young in Indiana was expelled for bringing a stun gun to school in self-defense after enduring months of harassment based on his sexual orientation and gender expression. Jewlyes, Dynasty, LGBTQ youth, and all students deserve better. Missouri can -- and must -- take action now to make sure our students are never put in a similar position. We often hear about bullying in schools, but the anti-bullying and zero tolerance policies adopted in response pose just as much of a danger for LGBTQ youth of color. Together, hostile school environments and extreme disciplinary policies create a school-to-prison pipeline for youth of color, youth with disabilities, and LGBTQ youth, telling them that their lives are disposable and that simply trying to get an education carries a risk of jail time. LGBTQ youth make up just 5-7% of the youth population, but represent 15% of those in the juvenile justice system. We believe restorative justice practices are the best solution for school discipline problems involving bias-based bullying and harassment. We can make this happen together by building a powerful student network to push back against school push out. Further, we believe that punitive exclusionary practices (like suspensions and expulsions) hurt all students' ability to succeed and achieve their academic goals and dreams. In January, the Obama administration released guidelines for improving school climate and discipline. Those guidelines recommend best practices like restorative approaches and condemn punitive policies and court referrals. It has been proven that alternative discipline with non-punitive approaches provides better student outcomes and keeps the student community together. In March 2014, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Opportunity to Learn Campaign, and the Advancement Project jointly released a toolkit highlighting restorative approaches as a best practice and providing guidance to administrators and educators on implementing them. In order to keep ourselves and fellow students in school, we demand that restorative justice practices, as outlined in the "Restorative Practices: Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools" toolkit, be implemented in Missouri.

  56 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Ka'Milla M.