MPS Supports LGBTQ+ Students

Milwaukee Public Schools Office of School Administration, 5225 W. Vliet St. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Schools.

While some school districts are tearing down signs welcoming LGBTQ+ students and adopting more restrictive transgender policies, Milwaukee Public Schools is putting up those same signs and supporting these students. That was the message a school board committee received at a December 12, 2024 committee meeting.

Districts that banned such signs have stated that all teachers should be welcoming every student and these signs unfairly send the message that teachers who do not display them are not. However, students in Waukesha and other school districts have stated that this is precisely what happens, that not all teachers are accepting of LGBTQ+ students.

The 2023 “Gender & Identity Inclusion” MPS guidebook outlines what procedures and policies schools must follow. If MPS parents and students want staff members to use pronouns other than the biological ones at birth, they must fill out a form for identification (male, female, neutral). The MPS employee handbook does not state that employees must use the pronouns formally chosen by the parent and student, but the handbook does state “discipline may be imposed” for “failure or refusal to comply with school/departmental work rules, policies, or procedures.”

School board director Henry Leonard remembers one situation where an elementary teacher simply refused to use the chosen pronouns for a student other than the biological identification at birth. The teacher and the principal struggled, going round and round. Finally, the teacher agreed to avoid using any pronouns identifying that student, only using the student’s name as stated on the district’s documents.

Brad Schlaikowski is co-founder and executive director of Courage MKE and runs the only Wisconsin group home solely dedicated to LGBT kids, with the majority identifying as trans or using pronouns other than those at birth. Although he was not at the board committee meeting, he offers insight with his experience with the district.

Over the last five years, 53 students have stayed at Courage House. “They always go to MPS schools,” says Schlaikowski even though the students come from all over Wisconsin. “The issues they generally have in school have nothing to do with their gender identity. It has to do with working through issues related to their trauma.”

“The few times we have had issues,” he added, they involved far more than maybe “one specific teacher that doesn’t agree with someone using pronouns other than what was assigned at birth.”

“We are not just putting up a safe space poster,” said school board director Megan O’Halloran. The resolution requires “district-wide training, including, but not limited to, LGBTQ+ and gender inclusion awareness.” The MPS administration stated at the meeting that such training has taken place and is ongoing. The program it is following is the “Welcoming Schools” approach established by the Human Rights Campaign.

I applaud MPS,” says Schlaikowski. “I know there is significant investment in training their staff on LGBT issues students face. A lot of school districts can’t say that.”

O’Halloran pointed to a study “that showed more trans teens attempted suicide after states passed anti-trans laws, like legislatures are using children as talking points and creating divisions, and these are children, and it’s our job to protect them.” She was referring to a peer-reviewed study by the Trever Project that showed a 72% increase in suicide attempts by transgender and nonconforming gender students following the passage of anti-transgender state laws.

At the December 12 meeting the administration presented revisions to the MPS Equity Guidebook outlining the principles of equity for various groups such as Black and Latino achievement, English learners and American Indian studies.

But the committee focused mostly on gender inclusion because the next item was a resolution by board director Jilly Gokalgandhi to include gender-inclusive restrooms, procedure on pronouns, and training on gender awareness first submitted on October 27, 2023.

The PowerPoint presentation showed what actions had been taken and what challenges were ahead. Schools across the district use various signs to identify gender neutral restrooms. The district is creating uniform signage to be used throughout the district.

A March 2023 PowerPoint presentation showed the status of gender neutral restrooms in each school: 84 schools self-reported that no such facilities existed at their schools only 56 schools had one or more gender neutral restrooms.

Interim Superintendent Eduard0 Galvan stated at the meeting that he wanted a professional evaluation beyond just the self-reporting. The 2023 presentation, if the self-reporting was accurate, showed that modifications to school buildings could cost as much as $10 million. The number of schools without such restrooms now may be lower, says Galvan, and the mandate could accomplished within the existing budget.

“With some of the rhetoric that’s out there right now,” said board director Erika Siemsen at the meeting, “it’s more important now, than ever before, that our students feel embraced and welcomed when they come to school.”