L.A. Public High School Offers Separate Classes for Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Students

Among the varied special education programs in the Los Angeles School District is a program for gays, lesbians and transgenders. There are several of these sites in the Los Angeles area where some of these classes meet in churches. The students are mostly high school age. Some come from middle schools. These special classes follow the same curriculum as the standard schools, where the students upon finishing their school requirements, can receive a diploma. Why is there a need for such a program? Here are the reasons: I learned the answer from these students when I had a long term substitute assignment one term.

The students, who are between the ages of 14 and 21, have been exposed to persistent ridicule and harassment while attending the more traditional schools. When some of them complained about it to their teachers or to the principal of their school, nothing much was done about the teasing. Because of this situation, many of these pupils dropped out of school, hurt themselves, or chose other destructive behavior. Some of the parents also rejected their kids which caused their kids to be very remorseful. Because of the rejection from family members, some of them were forced to live in group homes because they had no other place to live.

A good example of being rejected by parents is a story that was related to me by one of the students. His true name is being withheld. I'll call him Jose.

Jose told me a sad and dramatic situation that occurred to him when he was 14 years old. His mother went into his bedroom one day and found pictures of men hanging on his wall. She suspected that he was gay. She was angry with him, and told him that she did not raise a faggot. After some harsh words, she told him to leave the house and not come back again.

He was devastated. After being rejected like this, he ran away from home, and later he was found unconscious on the street. He had taken Valium in the hopes of ending his life.