Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

GLSEN

Founded	1990
Founder	Kevin Jennings
Type	Educational
Location	New York City
Area served	United States
Website	www.glsen.org
Formerly called	Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teachers Network

GLSEN, which originally stood for the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network, is an organization founded in 1990 in the United States that seeks to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in K-12 schools. In a move to be more inclusive to all non-heterosexual identities which they support, GLSEN has removed the tag line following their acronym. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City, but has one office in Washington, D.C. to house the policy department. GLSEN focuses its efforts on the support and opportunities provided by the four pillars of safety, respect, health, and leadership. Through programs, research, policy, training, and resource development work, GLSEN has built a network of over 13,000 educators across the country.

In addition to national efforts, GLSEN works locally through chapters. As of 2015^[update], there are thirty-eight chapters across the twenty-six states that train 5,000 students, educators, and school personnel each year. The chapters also support more than 4,000 registered school-based clubs, commonly known as gay–straight alliances (GSAs), which work to address anti-LGBT name calling, bullying, and harassment in their schools. GLSEN also sponsors and participates in a host of annual "Days of Action", including GLSEN's Day of Silence every April, GLSEN's Ally Week every September, and GLSEN's No Name-Calling Week every January.

Guided by research such as GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey, GLSEN has developed resources, lesson plans, classroom materials, and professional development programs for teachers on how to support LGBT students, such as "Safe Schools" training. Ready, Set, Respect!, Safe Space kits, and program guides for all the days of action. Safe Schools training and various other professional development opportunities have been facilitated by more than 200 GLSEN trainers to over 5,000 educators and school personnel each year. Ready, Set, Respect! is an elementary school toolkit developed to help educators ensure that all students feel safe and respected. GLSEN’s Safe Space Kit, which has been distributed to over 63,000 schools in the country, provides educators with a guide for supporting LGBT students, as well as Safe Space stickers and posters.