schools

Hollywood’s fascination with girl culture in the hallowed halls of education, or its fascination with girls in plaid skirts, has a long history that could be traced to the landmark German film Mädchen in Uniform, in which a student and teacher in a girls’ school share an unusually close bond. From Madchen to D.E.B.S. to But I'm a Cheerleader, Foxfire, Higher Learning, Heathers and more, featuring Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder, Ally Sheedy, Lindsay Lohan and so on... Some feature lesbians and others are just strong female characters.

To herald that transitional time of year that is the end of summer and the beginning of the school year, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite school-themed TV shows, many of which feature lesbians, or at least strong female characters – whether they are the outcasts or the popular and/or mean girls. Update your Netflix queue to include a few of these queer-friendly favorite series that compliment the back to school spirit just right.

Two female high school administrators in Harlem, N.Y., face possible firing for engaging in a relationship. Academy for Social Action principal Crystal Simmons and assistant principal Candy Jones "engaged in intimate conduct in the school during school hours," according to a report conducted by the city's Department of Education and released Friday.

Administrators at a Catholic high school in Canada told students they couldn't use rainbows for an antihomophobia event last week, but students found a clever loophole.

At a “Breaking the Silence”-themed assembly to honor Martin Luther King Jr., a high school senior used the opportunity to come out to the entire school and discuss the importance of diversity and acceptance and speak out against antigay bullying in schools.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown somberly addressed the media this afternoon, informing them that 13 people are dead after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire at Umpqua Community College.

The lesbian singer-songwriter opens up about her teacher-turned-rocker journey, her personal lyrics, and fighting back against those negative voices in your head.

Phoenix, Ariz., opened the doors to the state's first high schools targeted toward LGBT students last month. Q High joins just a handful of other LGBT-geared high schools across the country.

Talk show host and smart cookie lesbian Rachel Maddow strikes back against Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown for falsely claiming she has been tapped as the state's Democratic candidate for the 2012 senate race. In a full-page ad in the Boston Globe Friday, Maddow issued a letter, "I'm not running against Scott Brown." She said the rumor had no merit and that Brown "never even tried to find out if it was true" and that he wanted to "scare donors into giving him more money."

An elementary school principal apologized to parents after students were sent home with a flier advising children not to tell on bullies.

Following a White House screening of the documentary Bully, President Obama endorsed both the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act. The president made the announcement on Friday, the 17th annual Day of Silence, where LGBT students and allies sustain a vow of non-verbal communication to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.

A private school in Tennessee has banned the use of all mentions of homosexuality because, administrators say, it is forbidden in the Bible. One parent of a student at Rossville Christian Academy in Rossville, Tenn., told WREG News that they believe the policy change is aimed at one particular gay student at the 300-student school for grades K-12.

Honesty is a virtue. Unless you’re a lesbian student at The Master's School, a K-12 Christian school in West Simsbury, Conn. Rachel Aviles was a popular kid who excelled in academics, sports, and extracurricular activities. Unfortunately, Aviles wasn’t able to attend what would have been her senior year because of circumstances resulting from an incident last spring.