How Massachusetts Schools Brought Gay Rights To The Masses

At its most basic level, going to school is supposed to feel safe. But, historically, for LBGTQ students, school can be a true nightmare and they can feel that they have nowhere to go for support.

But in the 1980s and '90s, a grassroots group of students, teachers and politicians in Massachusetts created the first comprehensive program to work to improve LGBTQ people's experiences at school.

Their effort served as a model for the rest of the country, changing how Americans think about supporting gay youth at school.

Stephen Lane, a teacher at Concord-Carlisle High School and author of "No Sanctuary: Teachers And The School Reform That Brought Gay Rights To The Masses."

Arthur Lipkin, one of the first openly gay teachers in Massachusetts who led efforts to create a safe environment for LGBTQ faculty and youth at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in the 1980s. He's also a former chair of the Massachusetts Commission on Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth.