The school health division of the Centers for Disease Control published on its website a guide for schools to self-assess their commitment to inclusivity for gay and transgender students.
In October 2020, the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health developed the “LGBTQ Inclusivity in Schools: A Self-Assessment Tool” in conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
LGBTQ Inclusivity in Schools: A Self-Assessment Tool (cdc.gov)
The guide is a resource to help schools review their commitment to maintaining a “safe, inclusive environment” for gay and transgender students. Schools are directed to assess themselves and assign grades to a series of categories. Schools that score mostly C grades are considered “minimally inclusive” and should “commit to change.”
Getting mostly B grades categorizes a school as “moderately inclusive” and “beginning to break through.” A school with mostly A grades is “highly inclusive” and an “awesome ally.” The assessment breaks schools down into four sections: all users, administrators, educators, and school health staff.
According to the guide, the goal of the self-assessment is to help schools “better serve” their gay and transgender students while providing help to “plan ways to improve.” The guide asks a series of questions, including whether someone uses preferred pronouns, gender-neutral terms, and other “inclusive terminology.”
It also asks if school staff show themselves as “allies” by correcting others who use “incorrect, outdated, derogatory, or harmful language or terminology.” A school employee receives a high grade for advocating for “LGBTQ inclusive and affirming materials in all school and classroom environments.”
Administrators are given higher marks if their school allows students to use the bathroom of their chosen identity, offers co-ed sports teams, and maintains policies allowing teachers to “develop LGBTQ inclusive curricula.”
Teachers get high marks if they keep Pride flags and other gay and transgender decorations in the classroom to signal that the room is “a safe space for LGBTQ students.”
The guide also provides links to multiple gay and transgender advocacy groups to help schools in need of improvement.
