A gay–straight alliance, gender–sexuality alliance or queer–straight alliance (GSA or QSA) is a student-led organization that seeks to create safe and inclusive environments for LGBTQ students and their allies. GSAs are most commonly found in secondary schools, colleges, and universities in the United States and Canada, although similar groups exist in other countries.
The first gay–straight alliance was established in 1988 at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts, by students and teachers including Kevin Jennings and Meredith Sterling. The model subsequently spread to other schools and contributed to the development of organizations such as Glisten and the GSA Network.
GSAs commonly organize support networks, educational activities, and activism relating to LGBTQ issues and school environments. Research has associated GSAs with positive social, academic, and mental health outcomes for LGBTQ students, including lower levels of victimization and stronger feelings of school belonging.Goodenow, C., Szalacha, L., & Westheimer, K. (2006). "School support groups, other school factors, and the safety of sexual minority adolescents." Psychology in the Schools, 43(5), 573–589Toomey, R., Ryan, C., Diaz, R., & Russell, S. T. (2011). "High school gay–straight alliances (GSAs) and young adult well-being: An examination of GSA presence, participation, and perceived effectiveness." Applied Developmental Science, 15(4), 175–185.
In the United States, attempts to establish GSAs have sometimes led to legal disputes with school authorities. Federal courts have repeatedly ruled that students may form GSAs in public secondary schools where other non-curricular student organizations are permitted.
History
Founding
The first gaystraight alliance was formed in November 1988 at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts, when Kevin Jennings, a history teacher at the school who had recently come out as gay, was approached by a straight student who was upset by the treatment of gay students and others. Jennings recruited some other teachers at the school to form the group. One of the first to join was Sterling's classmate S. Bear Bergman. Jennings credits the school's students for the establishment of the club, as well as for setting the agenda of campaigning against homophobia, and for changes to the school's anti-discrimination policy. Jennings later cofounded the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN, subsequently renamed Glisten) in 1990.
A few months later, another Massachusetts preparatory school, Phillips Academy, started the second gaystraight alliance. On February 7, 1989, a student called a meeting with little advance notice. A dozen people attended, including a mix of student, teachers, and staff. Among the group's supporters was Kathy Henderson, the school's athletic director, who later cofounded Glisten, along with Kevin Jennings of Concord Academy.
In 2018, Concord Academy reported that students at the group had renamed it to "". Faculty mentor Nancy Boutilier said, "That gaystraight language was really important at the time. Times change, though. To students today, that sounds so binary."
Other GSA History in the United States Founded in 1984 in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Project 10 was widely recognized as the first organized effort to provide support for LGBTQ youth in schools across the United States and has been characterized as "perhaps the most important precursor of the GSA movement." The majority of its facilitators were heterosexual, and the program was named after the commonly quoted statistic that 10 per cent of the adult male population is "exclusively homosexual". Project 10 focused on issues such as substance use and high-risk sexual behaviour.
The first public school gay–straight alliance was started at Newton South High School (Newton, Massachusetts) by teacher Robert Parlin.Jennings, Kevin: Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son: A Memoir, page 196. Beacon Press, 2006.
GSAs made headlines in 1999 as a result of legal developments in Utah–East High Gay/Straight Alliance v. Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District.(81 F. Supp.2d 1166, 1197 (D. Utah 1999)) The federal district court for Utah found that denying access to a school-based gay–straight alliance was a violation of the Federal Equal Access Act giving students the right to use facilities for extracurricular activities at any public secondary school that receives federal funding.
On January 24, 2012, the United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, released a video on YouTube commemorating GSA Day and endorsing GSA clubs in schools.
Inclusivity Approximately 28 per cent of GSA participants in a GSA Network survey identified as heterosexual.
Opposition Some students face opposition from school administrations, elected school boards, or local communities in starting a school GSA.
In 2015, students at Brandon High School in Rankin County, Mississippi, attempted to start a GSA, but the school board met and publicly stated they wanted to prevent the formation of "gay clubs" in the school district. They then created a policy requiring parents to provide written permission before a student can join any club. Students then protested with support from the ACLU.
Students at West Carteret High School in Morehead City, North Carolina, tried to start a GSA but the Carteret County Board of Education turned it down.
Case law In the United States, the right of students to establish a GSA at school is guaranteed by both the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (with regard to every level of schooling) and the federal Equal Access Act (with regard to middle and high schools where other non-curricular student clubs are allowed). Since 1998, there have been at least 17 federal court cases in which middle or high school students have prevailed on this issue, with federal courts consistently ruling that students have both a right to establish a GSA at school and to use the name Gay–Straight Alliance instead of an alternative name.
In 1999, the Orange Unified School District in Orange County, California, moved to prohibit the formation of a GSA at El Modena High School. Students then sued the school board, claiming that their rights under the First Amendment and the 1984 Equal Access Act had been violated. In the first-ever ruling of its kind, Judge David O. Carter of the United States District Court for the Central District of California issued a preliminary injunction ordering the school to allow the GSA to meet.
In 2009, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled in favor of high school students whose attempt to form a GSA had been blocked by the school board, in the case of Gay–Straight Alliance of Yulee High School v. School Board of Nassau County, with the federal court also ruling that the school must allow the students to use the name Gay–Straight Alliance instead of an alternative name that excludes the term Gay.
In 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously ruled in favor of middle school students whose attempt to form a GSA had been blocked by the school board, in the case of Carver Middle School Gay–Straight Alliance v. School Board of Lake County, Florida.
In 2025, Texas adopted SB 12, a law purporting to ban GSAs in its public schools. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Transgender Law Center (TLC), and the law firm of Baker McKenzie filed a lawsuit in August 2025, challenging the constitutionality of SB 12 on behalf of GSA Network, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), the Texas American Federation of Teachers, a teacher, and two students. In February 2026, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of portions of the law in three specific school districts.
Outside the United States Worldwide, gay–straight alliances are not as common as the organizations are in the United States, but are beginning to spread, particularly in Canada.
Australia As of July 2020, as reported by the media Star Observer, Australia has one gay–straight alliance set up within the Melbourne Grammar School. However, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and some parts of the United States have had gay–straight alliances within schools for decades.
In Australia, the group Safe Schools Coalition Victoria piloted a system of reducing homophobia though teacher training and student groups that promote inclusion of LGBTQ young people, which ran from 2014 to 2017. Started by The Foundation for Young Australians and Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, along with La Trobe University, the program was expanded to run Australia-wide. The program was supported by Beyondblue, Headspace, the University of Canberra, Macquarie University, University of Western Sydney, Curtin University, various family planning and HIV prevention groups, government bodies and Uniting Church organizations.
Bulgaria In 2016, Bulgaria became the first country in the Balkans to open a gay–straight alliance in Sofia American College.
Canada As Canada has two official languages, LGBTQ student clubs may be referred to as gay–straight alliances (GSA), queer-straight alliances (QSA), alliance allosexuelle-hétérosexuelle (AAH), or alliance gaie-hétéro (AGH).
In May 2010 Egale Canada launched MyGSA.ca, a website focused on GSAs and their role in making Canadian schools safer and more LGBTQ inclusive. Their website includes educational resources for GSAs and information about available bursaries and funding. While MyGSA previously included a directory of registered Canadian GSA, this feature is no longer available on their website. Prior to closing the public directory, more than 283 GSAs had registered with the website.
Currently there are no federal laws in Canada regarding GSAs. Any laws are specific to each province or territory.
The first GSA in Canada was started in 1998 at Pinetree Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia. The start of the Pinetree GSA garnered national media attention, and its members continued to play a role in public affairs by meeting with successive provincial Ministers of Education, testifying before the B.C. Safe Schools Task Force on anti-bullying, and delivering workshops to students and educators about LGBT-sensitive inclusive language and how to start GSAs. In early 2002, the Pinetree GSA held the first Pride Day at a high school in Canada. The Pride Day included an information fair with booths from various local LGBTQ organizations, PrideTalk workshops delivered in numerous classes, and an assembly with a talk on transgender rights and a performance by G.L.A.S.S., a local LGBTQ youth choir.
As of 2011, 41% of schools in British Columbia were reported to have a GSA.
The first GSA in Alberta was started in 2000 at the Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School in Red Deer. While members initially feared backlash, there was little-to-no negative reaction to the club.
In 2011, the Edmonton public school board introduced a policy which mandates that all school principals must establish a GSA if asked for one by students. The same year, the school board assigned a district consultant to provide support for GSAs within the city and host a monthly meeting for GSA members to network.