Diverse Sexuality and Schools

by David Campos

Published 13 August 2003

An overview of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) students in our schools-what they endure, their special needs, and the programs and groups that support them.

Diverse Sexuality and Schools: A Reference Handbook is an eye-opening report on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth in our schools-the isolation they feel, the hostilities they face, their unique developmental and emotional needs, and the innovative ways schools, communities, and organizations are working to support them.

Author David Campos offers a compelling, often harrowing, tour of the lives of GLBT students, including what researchers have learned over the past half-century and what the schools, the courts, and the government are doing to keep them safe regardless of their sexual orientation. But perhaps the book's greatest impact comes from the way Campos gives voice to this often neglected population, providing a forum for these students' painful testimonies of harassment, violence, and despair.


Directory of organizations, associations, and government agencies associated with GLBT youth

Comprehensive introductory chapter providing an overview of terms and definitions, historical and legal perspectives, and demographics of the GLBT youth population


An authoritative reference that discusses the history of sex education and its ramifications in the United States.

Community and school officials, parents, and educators often stay to the wee hours of the night at PTA meetings arguing about sex education and sexual behavior among young people. While some groups preach abstinence and attempt to sign as many youngsters as possible to their rosters, it remains a fact that 50 percent of U.S. teenagers, beginning at age 15, are sexually active.

Sex, Youth, and Sex Education is a wonderfully crafted resource that gives not only a statistical overview of sexual activity in schools, but also examines sex education, the scourge of sexual violence in schools, and sexuality among selected groups of youngsters. What emerges is a groundbreaking work for educators and students of sociology, psychology, and education. This work brings to light the fascinating-not to mention ubiquitous-world of sexuality among today's youth and its impact on parents, school personnel, policymakers, and society.


  • Definitions of and statistics on sexual activity among children and adolescents
  • comprehensive directory of organizations as well as print and nonprint resources