You have the power to build a more feminist space in your school
Not everyone gets to pick their school or how open-minded it is. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. If we work collectively as a team, we have the power to change things and make our schools more feminist and empathetic environments.
A FEMINIST Guide to Back to School
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Schools contribute to the climate crisis from waste production to resource use.
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All students should be allowed to dress in a manner that is comfortable to them, conducive to their learning, and in accordance with their gender identity.
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Young people are voting, and the GOP can’t stop us.
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Help stop book bans and protect our children’s freedom to learn.
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The reversal of Roe v. Wade means that what students learn in sex ed is more important than ever.
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Comprehensive consent education is crucial for developing a campus culture that opposes sexual violence.
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Students, parents, educators, and communities all have a responsibility to address bullying in schools, online, and in their communities.
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School readiness isn't just about having the right supplies, it's also about mental health. If you or someone you know is in need of mental health support, help is available.
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Join the movement to destigmatize menstruation and make schools more accommodating for all students who experience it. No one should miss school because they can't afford the basic necessities they require.
Climate Crisis
Schools contribute to the climate crisis from waste production to resource use.
Overview
➜ Schools represent the third largest sector of commercial building energy usage in the United States. School building energy consumption costs U.S. school districts more than $8 billion per year and produces emissions equivalent to 18 coal-fired power plants. source
➜ U.S. schools alone waste 530,000 tons of food annually, the World Wildlife Fund reports.
➜ 91% of school buses are diesel-powered, creating air pollution that harms the environment and student health. source
How to take action
➜ Research the impact your campus may have on the environment.
➜ Advocate for schools to turn off lights and heating and cooling systems on nights, weekends, and holidays.
➜ Encourage your school administration to use to solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and waste reduction programs like recycling and composting.
➜ Promote alternative transportation like walking, biking, public transport, and carpooling.
➜ Support organizations like @intersectionalenvironmentalist, @sunrisemvmt, and @atmos.
Dress Codes
All students should be allowed to dress in a manner that is comfortable to them, conducive to their learning, and in accordance with their gender identity.
Overview
➜ Nearly 20% of public schools in the 2019-2020 school year required students to wear a uniform and 44% enforced a "strict" dress code. (National Center for Education Statistics)
➜ Dress codes often target girls, students of color and LGBTQ+ youth, and students living in poverty, upholding harmful gender and racial norms. Examples could include prohibiting hijabs, natural Black hairstyles, or long hair for boys.
How to take action
➜ Get informed about your rights.
➜ Title VI prohibits federally funded schools (whether public or private) from discriminating based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.
If your school has a policy that prevents Indigenous students from wearing tribal regalia, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education.
➜ Help end hair discrimination in schools by signing this petition and supporting the CROWN Act.
➜ If your school or workplace maintains dress and grooming policies that treat people differently based on gender stereotypes, let the ACLU know.
Voting Access
Young people are voting, and the GOP can’t stop us.
Overview
➜ Republican lawmakers in a number of states have been trying to enact new obstacles (such as eliminating polling places on college campuses) to voting for college students.
➜ 35 states currently have some form of in-person voter ID law in place, but the list of acceptable IDs varies substantially from state to state. There are 6 “strict voter ID” states —Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas— that do not accept student ID cards. (Campus Vote Project)
How to take action
➜ Register to vote & check your registration status by texting ‘FEMINIST’ to 26797.
➜ Learn your state’s voting registration deadlines and laws at vote.gov.
➜ Intersectional feminist voters arrive at the polls or vote by mail with a plan. Build your custom ballot with Vote Pro Choice.
➜ Know your voting rights and track voting legislation.
➜ Does your state require voter ID? Do they accept a student ID? Find out here.
➜ Explore this guide to learn how to ‘Vote like an Intersectional Feminist’.
Book Bans
Help stop book bans and protect our children’s freedom to learn.
Overview
➜ Books are under attack in the United States. They are disappearing from library shelves, being challenged in droves, being decreed off limits by school boards, legislators, and prison authorities. And everywhere, it is the books that have long fought for a place on the shelf that are being targeted. Books by authors of color, by LGBTQ+ authors, by women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, history. (PEN America)
➜ More books are being banned than ever before, despite over 70% of parents oppose book banning. In the first half of 2023, 1,477 instances of individual books were banned, affecting 874 unique titles.
➜ Additionally, censorship of themes centered on race, history, sexual orientation and gender is expanding.
➜ New state laws are censoring ideas and materials in public too, an extension of the book banning movement.
➜ Book bans disproportionately impact students from systemically marginalized backgrounds such as LGBTQ+ students, low-income students, students with disabilities, and students of color.
How to take action
➜ Read GLAAD’s Guide to Battling Book and School Censorship for Students, Parents, and School Staff.
➜ Email your school board supporting free education if they propose a book ban
➜ Join Campaign for Our Shared Future in the fight to protect public education in communities around the country.
➜ Vote in school board elections with help from this guide.
➜ Report a book ban to PEN America.
➜ Show solidarity with librarians and libraries —and say no to censorship, book bans, intimidations, and unjust prosecutions.
➜ View Let America Read’s list of organizations to take action with.
Sex Education
The reversal of Roe v. Wade means that what students learn in sex ed is more important than ever.
Overview
➜ 30 states require schools to emphasize the importance of abstinence when sex education or HIV/STI instruction is provided and 16 states provide abstinence-only sex education. (SEICUS)
➜ Among the 10 states with the highest rates of teen pregnancy among girls 15-19 years old, five are states without mandated sex education: Arizona, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Arkansas.
➜ Sexually Transmitted infections among adolescents and young adults have been rapidly increasing among young people in recent years. More than half of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) reported in 2020 were in people ages 15 to 24. (CDC)
➜ Proposals to restrict sex ed coincide with abortion restrictions at the national and state levels.
➜ There is a growing movement to stop educators (in and out of the classroom) from discussing gender and sexual orientation. Women’s and gynecological health information is being censored on social media.
How to take action
➜ Review your state’s current sex education laws and policies here. The SIECUS State Profiles provides an in-depth and up-to-date look at the state of sex education in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the outer United States territories and associated states. For more on state sex ed laws and policies across the US, view their Sex Ed State Law and Policy Chart.
➜ Use our abortion action toolkit to learn more about the state of abortion rights in the US and around the world and fight back to protect abortion access across the country.
➜ Get educated with Planned Parenthood’s free and inclusive sex ed resource for students, teachers, parents, and caregivers.
➜ Read FOLX’s LGBTQ+ Safer Sex Guide.
➜ Explore RAINN's Spanish Language Resource Toolkit.
➜ Follow these community leaders. 👇
5 Queer Sex Educators
11 Sexual Health Educators
Consent
Comprehensive consent education is crucial for developing a campus culture that opposes sexual violence.
Overview
➜ Over 50% of all campus sexual assaults occur between the start of school and Thanksgiving break. Black, indigenous, and queer young people continue to be the most impacted by sexual violence. (Source: Inside Higher Ed (2009), National Intimate Partner Sexual Violence Survey)
➜ According to EROC’s Campus Accountability Map + Tool, only 58% of colleges have a comprehensive definition of consent.
➜ In the last two years, consent education policy has failed in upwards of 10 states and that is directly because of homophobia and the patriarchy.
➜ Consent education does not fail young people equally; POC and queer young people are disproportionately affected.
How to take action
➜ Review the consent laws in your state.
➜ Learn about your school’s prevention efforts and resources for survivors.
➜ Educate others on consent.
➜ Become aware of your legal rights as a student after an assault.
➜ Join the movement to make consent education more accessible, actionable, and relatable to young people.
Bullying
Students, parents, educators, and communities all have a responsibility to address bullying in schools, online, and in their communities.
Overview
➜ In the U.S., 1 in 5 students ages 12-18 experienced bullying during the school year. (National Center for Education)
➜ Approximately 160,000 teens have skipped school because of bullying. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, The National Education Association.)
➜ Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school. (CDC)
➜ There is no federal law specifically about bullying. The laws vary by state, county, and district.
How to take action
➜ If you're being bullied, let someone know. Confide in a trusted adult – a teacher, counselor, or parent; your voice matters. Remember, you're not alone in this.
Mental health crisis support resources can be found in our Mental Health Toolkit.
→ Learn about your school’s prevention efforts and resources for survivors.