Metro DC PFLAG memorandum to MCPS Gay-Straight Alliances, 4/27/09

 April 27, 2009

 

TO:        Montgomery County High School Gay-Straight Alliances

 

FROM:   Metro DC Chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays

               (PFLAG)

               202-638-3852, pflagdc.org

 

RE:        Material Provided to Guidance Counselors, School Psychologists, and Pupil

              Personnel Workers

 

    Recently, a PFLAG board member had a very satisfying conversation with Stephen Zagami, who is Director of the MCPS Department of Student Services, which oversees the Guidance Offices.

 

    Mr. Zagami explained that, as a general matter, all school guidance counselors, school psychologists, and pupil personnel workers are permitted to use materials relating to sexual orientation from federal, state, and county government agencies, the American School Counselor Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Mental Health Association, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics' Guidance for the Clinician on Sexual Orientation. 

 

    Moreover, the following documents from such groups have been, and will continue to be, sent electronically by the MCPS Central Office to the school counselors, school psychologists, and pupil personnel workers for their use:  

 

    1.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) publication, Guidance for the Clinician on Sexual Orientation, from PEDIATRICS, Vol 113, No. 6 (June 2004), which may be found at  http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/113/6/1827.   In this Guidance, the AAP notes, among other things, that the American Psychiatric Association states that "homosexuality [is] a sexual orientation or expression and not a mental disorder;" that "one's sexual orientation is not a choice; that is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual or heterosexual," nor is it something "that voluntarily can be changed;" that "gay and lesbian individuals can be successful parents themselves;" and that doctors should be "supportive of parents of adolescents who have disclosed that they are not heterosexual," noting that "most states have chapters of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to which interested families may be referred."

 

      2.  The American Psychological Association’s Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators, and School Personnel, http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.pdf  This publication -- which was expressly developed for school personnel and is endorsed by thirteen other organizations, including the American School Counselor Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the AAP -- notes, among other things, that "the nation's leading professional medical, health, and mental health organizations do not support efforts to change young people's sexual orientation through therapy and have raised serious concerns about the potential harm from such efforts." 

 

         3.   The National Mental Health Association (now known as Mental Health America) publication What Does Gay Mean? How to Talk With Kids About Sexual Orientation and Prejudice (http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/what-does-gay-mean).  This excellent document is aimed at parents, as well as students.

 

    We are letting you know about this so that you will be aware of the resources that key school personnel have been given to address concerns that students may have about sexual orientation.  They should be able to be a useful resource.  We are pleased that MCPS recognizes the wisdom of the mainstream American medical and mental health professional associations.