Bill of Rights Companion Evidence Document

Last summer, we released the Bill of Rights to Support the Mental Health of Girls and Gender Expansive Youth of Color in Schools, a call for actions that can ensure the safety and wellbeing of these youth in schools. The Bill of Rights was developed by the Youth Advisory Committee.

The newly released Companion Evidence Document provides resources, data, and other evidence to support the five demands enumerated in the Mental Health Bill of Rights.

The materials highlight data and research findings that suggest ways current US laws, policies, and practices in schools harm the academic success and mental health of girls and gender-expansive youth of color. Significantly, the document offers solutions which school officials can use to take action in support of each of the five rights in the Bill of Rights, and as a result, better support the mental health of girls and gender-expansive youth of color and empower them at school. From the right to safe spaces to be ourselves, to the right for culturally relevant curricula – the Companion Evidence Document validates the needs of our youth in educational spaces today, and represents the futures of youth across this country.

By supporting girls and gender non-conforming youth through our actions in educational spaces, we set off a chain of positive change that ripples through communities; from schools to healthcare systems, legal systems, policing, and more.