Anti-LGBTQIA+ Language at the School Board Meeting: Implications for District Leaders

• In Event: Unpacking Educational Dynamics: From School Characteristics to Equity-Driven Initiatives

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show how school board meeting policies and practices can allow unacknowledged homophobia, transphobia, and racism to metastasize and create an unsafe climate throughout the district. This study draws from 40 hours of ethnographic case study observations at school board meetings over the course of 16 months. Reconstructive Horizon Analysis (RHA) was used to analyze public comment, board deliberation, and district leader remarks. Analysis shows that the board chairperson does not state norms or expectations before public comment, the board adheres to a policy of not responding to individual public comments that sometimes extends to their discussion of related business items, and members do not consistently challenge each other when they make offensive comments.

Author

• Cory Roseth, University of Wisconsin - Madison