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The Disruptive Power of Policy Erasure: How State Legislators and School Boards Fail to Take up Trans-Affirming Policies While Leaning into Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies

Authors :
Mollie T. McQuillan
Benjamin A. Lebovitz
LaShanda Harbin
Source :
Educational Policy. 2024 38(3):642-699.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Since 2017, hostile anti-LGBTQ+ educational bills rapidly expanded. Using traditional and critical policy analysis across three Midwestern states, we examine (1) whether state and local policymakers (n = 60) adopted trans-inclusive protections aligned with the 2017 federal "Whitaker" ruling, (2) the spread and scope of state and local educational policies concerning LGBTQ+ people, and (3) relationships between LGBTQ and critical race theory (CRT) curricular bills. We find policy erasure in states without pre-"Whitaker" gender-inclusive nondiscrimination laws and expanded efforts to ban LGBTQ+ students from educational opportunities, spaces, and curriculum. LGBTQ+ and CRT curricular bans overlapped. We discuss the implications of policymakers leaning into exclusion over gender reforms.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0895-9048 and 1552-3896
Volume :
38
Issue :
3
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Educational Policy
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
EJ1424025
Document Type :
Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048231218206