Boston City Council scrutinizes LGBTQ+ student safety and academic gaps in BPS

BOSTON -- March 16, 2023, Boston City Council probes LGBTQ+ student safety and academic performance in Boston Public Schools. Councilor Julia M. Mejia and co-sponsor Councilor Ricardo Ariel Lara convened the remote hearing on Docket 0247, drawing BPS administrators and community advocates to discuss data showing 45 percent of LGBTQ+ youth had seriously considered suicide in the past year and that LGB students were disproportionately likely to report grades of C or below. BPS Assistant Superintendent of Equity Becky Schuster reported 172 LGBTQ+ student support requests already handled in the current school year, on pace to exceed last year's 185. Quincy J. Roberts Sr., the city's inaugural Executive Director for LGBTQ+ Advancement, announced the Amplify GSA youth summit set for May 21 at Boston Arts Academy and said LGBTQ+ competency training would pilot April 1 with three city departments, with a goal of making it mandatory for all 18,000 city employees. Former BPS student Kamani James, testifying from Budapest, Hungary, told councilors that pervasive bullying at Boston Latin Academy left him "largely grateful" when schools locked down in 2020, and Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth Executive Director Shapley Brooks warned that 43 Massachusetts school districts have already faced anti-LGBTQ attacks, including forced removal of pride flags.