Although T.J. was accessed early on, he was constantly faced with being denied the resources he needs to succeed, even when his parents were fighting for him. Students with disabilities are constantly overlooked and T.J. being denied shows how schools don't care about accommodating to those who deviate from the norm (per their standards).

Schools definitely need to focus on who they hire; seeing that white teachers view Black teachers as less competent regardless of the amount of schooling they went to is unacceptable. These biases bleed into the way they teach classes, and this is exactly what leads to students of color being targeted over white students.

Another reason from overrepresentation I would like to add (which I've gotten from our previous readings) is the lack of culturally adaptive teaching. Native American and Black students both come from rich cultures which may have norms that differ from the generally white education curriculum. This may lead to an unaware teacher placing these students into special education for "not listening" when the reality is that these students may not recognize or understand the way they are being asked to do things.

A commonality I'm seeing in K-12 education from the texts we've been reading is the emphasis on labels. LGBTQIA+, race, gender, and disabilities are all categories that are integrated into schools to categorize students as different from one another. In reality, all of these students are deserving of love, attention, care, and quality education regardless of what identities they align with. Equity needs to be implemented into these schools to ensure that students struggling because of their different identities may receive the proper support. We shouldn't overlook these categories because we want to support these students, however, we also shouldn't segregate and isolate students based off of them.

Labeling students with disabilities as the "other" and telling them at a young age that they are fundamentally different from their peers through these segregated classes neglects these students. They may grow up believing they aren't capable and that they don't fit into society. Students with disabilities deserve to be accommodated in the classroom and to make friends with their peers without being overlooked or labeled as different.

Ngo's ability to emphasize with queer students as an educator allows him to create a safe space for them. The way he may approach teaching, discussions, and even creating spaces for queer students may help them thrive. Having a role model can be extremely helpful, especially one that is similar to you, and I'm glad Ngo can do that for his students. I hope if anything, other educators can accept their students and help tend to their needs.

This reminds me of an experience one of my queer friends had attending a Catholic all girls school. They were unable to get a club going similar to the GSA because the school authority figures didn't agree with LGTBTQIA+ people and supporting spaces for them. It's really upsetting that the self expression, initiative, and attempt to make safe places of students are being suppressed because of bigoted staff.

As the figure of authority, they MUST acknowledge when a student is being harassed. The failure to do show conveys their incompetence as school personnel and further prove that schools may not provide a safe place for LGBTQIA+ students. There are so many harassment cases that occur on school grounds, and it's up to the figures of authority to step up and do what's right.

In addition to this, since safe sex between same sex couples are generally not covered in sexual education classes, this could lead to very dangerous outcomes. Students will turn to what they feel like they have control over which are these risk behaviors. We must make these students feel safe in school and teach them safe practices, including all gender identities and sexualities.

This is beyond cruel to do to someone who passed away, especially from a hate crime. This is so upsetting that some schools allow their homophobia to prevent them from providing a student with decent respect. I hope Sakia's story continues to be told and it's so upsetting they lost their life so young.

This reminded me that even in LGBTQIA+ spaces that exist on campuses, many can be white-centric and exclude the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth of color. I've heard from some of my peers that they felt excluded from these spaces and even felt that students were cliquey within these clubs, which further drove them away. Understanding the intersectionality of these identities and how to create inclusive spaces is thus extremely important in order to make all students feel welcomed and heard.

This harassment starts young, usually when self discover happens (around middle school). This can have a major emotional toll on LGBTQIA+ youth alongside cisgender women (and an intersection of these identities). This harassment often goes overlooked because complaints put in by these students are ignored, making other students scared to report harassment as well.

I think this pressure on transgender students is put on because of how the gender binary is heavily emphasized in the infrastructure of schools. There tends to be no gender neutral bathrooms, which may be a comfortable option for transgender students, and because of societal pressures, they may feel forced to use restrooms that align with their birth sex rather than their gender expression. Feeling safe on campus is a big part in being able to succeed, and I think this can take a toll on transgender students' mental health.