Welcome!

Special Announcements:

POLICY PASSED!

The Metro School Board passed a comprehensive anti-bullying policy at its school board meeting on June 10! The policy will be included in the 2008-2009 Code of Conduct and says:

Violation of Personal Rights

It is a violation for any student, teacher, administrator or other school district employee to violate the personal rights of others. Violation of Personal Rights is any act of intimidation, harassment, physical force or threat of physical force directed against any person, or their property or advocate, motivated in whole or in part by hostility to their real or perceived race, ethnic background, religious belief, gender (including gender identity), age, disability, or sexual orientation, with the intention of causing fear or intimidation, or to deter the free exercise or enjoyment of any rights or privileges secured by the Constitution or the laws of the State of Tennessee whether or not performed under the color of state law.

Thanks to everyone who supported the policy, ordered a bumpersticker, or came to our school board presentation!


MNPS: Support Student Safety is a coalition led by current and former students of the Metropolitan-Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) who are working to persuade the MNPS School Board to adopt a comprehensive non-discrimination policy protecting all of its students. We began our project in June 2007 with the assistance of the LGBT Project of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. Members of the MNPS: Support Student Safety coalition have one overriding goal: to ensure that all MNPS students have access to public education that is safe and free from discrimination.

Why is Nashville behind Knox County and Memphis
in protecting students?

Currently, MNPS only has a “generic” anti-bullying policy and a public statement of non-discrimination that does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Nashville has fallen behind other Tennessee cities in promoting student welfare. Unlike Nashville, both Knox County Schools and Memphis City Schools have passed comprehensive non-discrimination or anti-bullying policies that specifically protect LGBT students.

Our coalition is working to have the MNPS school board amend its non-discrimination policy to state:

“It is the policy of the Metro Nashville Public Schools to afford all persons, regardless of their actual or perceived race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or gender, including gender identity, expression, and appearance, equal rights and opportunities in all of its educational institutions.”

This policy protects all students, gay or straight. A broad-based study in Seattle schools, for example, found that “80 percent of students harassed on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation were in fact heterosexual." The policy will also prohibit discrimination against students who don’t act “masculine” or “feminine” enough.

Are you a current or former MNPS student? Please take our survey!

You can also join us on Myspace or find us on Facebook!
If the link above does not work, you can find us on Facebook by searching groups for "MNPS That's So Gay".

Some documents are provided in PDF format. If you cannot view PDF files, download Adobe Reader.

MNPS: Support Student Safety is not affiliated with the Metro Nashville Public School district.