The well-being of our students is and always has been the Hilliard Education Association’s top priority. We know every student must feel safe, welcomed and respected in their school environment before they can focus on academic instruction. The “I’m here. Safe person. Safe space” badges that some Hilliard educators opted to wear are visible symbols of their support to their students who may need it and serve as a critical lifeline for LGBTQ+ students who are in crisis who need a trusted adult to help. The QR code on the back of the badge links to a long list of resources for educators –not students—to ensure
trusted adults are equipped to support their students and provide assistance as needed.
And make no mistake, that support is desperately needed. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 24, and LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. This elevated risk is not because of who LGBTQ+ children are but because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized by the people around them. They need to know there are adults who care about and value them, regardless of who they are, where they’re from, what they look like, their gender identity, or who they love.
Unfortunately, extremists working to amplify the playbooks of a national network of political radicals are once again trying to manufacture controversy and weaponize LGBTQ+ issues to distract Ohioans from the very real issues facing our schools. Our students need fully and fairly funded public schools; they need relief from high-stakes standardized testing that takes time away from teaching and learning and unfairly punishes kids and school districts; they need stronger mental health supports; they need the freedom to be themselves, pursue their dreams, and feel safe in our communities; the list goes on and on. They don’t need to have pundits and political puppeteers spinning up a moral panic around badges that simply identify some educators as trusted adults. It’s disingenuous and cruel, and we must all come together to demand better for our kids.