Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Bureau of Indian Education
The Bureau of Indian Education provides quality education opportunities from early childhood through life in accordance with the tribes' needs to cultural and economic well being in keeping with the wide diversity of Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages as distinct cultural and governmental entities. The Bureau considers the whole person (spiritual, mental, physical and cultural aspects.)"
Don't Call Them Dropouts
A report from America’s Promise Alliance encourages readers to think differently about youth who have left school, suggesting a change in terminology, from “dropouts” to “nongraduates” or students who have had “interrupted enrollment.” As this article explains, youth voices are featured prominently in the report, which also highlights factors that influence students to leave school and the supports that can help them to return to and remain in school.
Four Tips for Serving LGBTQ Young People in Rural Communities
This blog post addresses the unique challenges of serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in rural places. Written by the executive director of Tumbleweed Runaway Program in Billings, MT, it also suggests how youth-serving professionals in rural areas can make their services and communities welcoming to all young people.
How Are the Lives of LGBTQ Youth Improved by Gay-Straight Alliances?
This article, featured by the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, discusses a recent study released in the School Social Work Journal that compared 284 lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning (LGBTQ) youth in schools with gay-straight alliances with LGBTQ students in schools without those alliances to discern whether the presence of such organizations improved outcomes for young people. The study suggests that membership in a gay-straight alliance has some positive effects on LGBTQ youth, but more research is necessary.
Online Sexual Health Resources
The Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth released this list of recommended resources on sexually transmitted diseases, including information geared specifically to teens and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.
Primary Sources: Learning How Service Providers and Policy Makers Can Help LGBTQ Homeless Youth
This article provides information about a research review that aimed to determine directions for research, public policy, and practice related to serving homeless youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning. The article also includes potential implications of the research for policies and practices of youth-serving organizations. Researchers at Harvard Medical School conducted the research review.
Q&A: Meeting the Needs of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth
The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth published this Q&A with Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, featuring tips for working specifically with transgender and gender non-conforming youth.
Resources for Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth
The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides a list of resources for those serving LGBT youth including helpful publications and LGBT-youth focused organizations.
The Equal Access to Housing Rule and Youth
This Q&A from the Department of Health and Human Services explains how the federal rule, “Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity,” will benefit youth.
Voices from the Field: LGBT-Friendly Teen Pregnancy Prevention
This podcast by the National Clearinghouse on Youth and Families (NCFY) features program coordinator at the Bristol HUB Youth Center in Vermont, Ryan Krushenick, who leads a popular teen pregnancy prevention curriculum tailored to be welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. He talks to NCFY how to practice inclusive teen pregnancy prevention work.
NCFY Voices: Does It Get Better for LGBTQ Teens?
In this podcast, Michelle Birkett, a researcher at Northwestern University's Feinburg School of Medicine, describes a study she co-authored on the mental health and victimization of LBGTQ youth and how it progresses over time.
5 Online Resources to Help Domestic Violence Programs Offer Inclusive Services to LGBTQ People
NCFY has compiled a list of resources that can help anti-violence programs provide inclusive services to LGBTQ youth. This information is pertinent to organizations that receive funding authorized through the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, as they are required to provide mainstream services to survivors who identify as LGBTQ.
5 Tips for Providing Trauma-Informed Sex Education
This article highlights the work of two researchers who are pioneering changes in sex education that bridge the gap between sex education and trauma-informed care by better understanding how sex education could be more sensitive to students’ traumatic experiences. This article also offers tips, based on this research, for implementing a trauma informed approach to sex education.
Guidance: Education Department Reiterates — Title I Funding Can Be Used to Serve Homeless Students
This article explains the guidance provided in a recent “Dear Colleague” letter (PDF, 4 pages) issued by the Department of Education which explains how school districts can use Title I funds to help children and youth experiencing homelessness. Some examples of ways districts can use the funds are to transport homeless students to and from school, pay the salaries of staff who work with homeless youth, and to generally meet the needs of these students.
Research: Does Sexual Orientation Affect Teen Pregnancy Risk?
This article describes a study that used data from the 2005, 2007, and 2009 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Surveys to understand how sexual orientation affects high-school students' risk of getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant. Results show that a young person’s sexual orientation and the gender of their sexual partners was strongly linked with risk of getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant, suggesting that adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts focused exclusively on heterosexual young people may be too narrow.
Resource: Helping Youth Prevent Suicide Among Their LGBTQ Peers
This article highlights free resources educators and youth service providers can use to implement the Trevor Project’s Lifeguard Workshop, a program encouraging young people to be “lifeguards” for one another by having the knowledge to help in a crisis. Professionals can request a free, in-person workshop or use the resources highlighted in the article to create personalized trainings.
National Center for Safe Routes to School
The National Center for Safe Routes to School assists states and communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school. The National Center serves as the information clearinghouse for the federal Safe Routes to School program. The organization also provides technical support and resources and coordinates online registration efforts for U.S. Walk to School Day and facilitates worldwide promotion and participation.
Brief: the Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth in Child Welfare Settings
A recent brief from the Permanency Innovations Initiative highlights how research is contributing to a better understanding of the needs of LGBTQ youth in child welfare settings. The brief presents findings from qualitative interviews conducted with youth participating in the Recognize, Intervene, Support, and Empower (RISE) project, funded through a grant from the Children’s Bureau to the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Share with Youth: Hitting the Open Road After High School
Co-written by teens for teens, this resource can help youth with disabilities (PDF, 16 pages) think about their options for life after high school. It provides information on post-graduation options and guides students in making choices that are right for them, finding activities that can help them get ready now, and accessing supportive services.
Resource: Personal Competencies for College & Career Success
This guide describes strategies postsecondary professionals can use to assist all students, including those with disabilities, to develop personal competencies that will increase their chances of success.
Civil Rights Guidance to K-12 Schools on Single-Sex Classes
Guidance from OCR advises schools on how to offer single-sex classes (PDF, 36 pages) while complying with Title IX. Presented in a question-and-answer format, the guidance addresses common scenarios that schools may face when designing single-sex programs.
Report: Delivering Justice
This report (PDF, 44 pages) describes OCR’s efforts during the last year to protect students’ civil rights and increase educational equity. The report includes examples of OCR’s enforcement activities, highlights of notable cases, and the guidance documents OCR released in 2015.
Resource: Combatting Discrimination Against AANHPI and MASSA Students
This policy fact sheet (PDF, 1 page) supports educators and community leaders as they work to protect all students, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian (MASSA) students, from discrimination and to create safe and supportive learning environments.
Resource: Dear Colleague Letter on Gender Equity in Career and Technical Education
This Dear Colleague Letter (PDF, 17 pages) emphasizes that students, regardless of their sex, must have equal access to the range of career and technical programs offered. It also provides examples of how schools could fail to comply with these requirement and the actions they could take to remedy any violations.
Resource: Civil Rights of Students with ADHD
This guidance (PDF, 42 pages) clarifies the obligation of schools to provide students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with equal educational opportunity under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.