The Mission of Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition (OSSCC) is to create safe schools and communities where every family can belong, every educator can teach, and every child can learn regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This mission is achieved by carrying out education, youth empowerment, data collection and support services. OSSCC, an Oregon non-profit organization with federal tax exempt status and governed by an eleven-person Board of Directors, is designed to serve youth throughout the state of Oregon. OSSCC provides a vehicle for like-minded individuals and organizations to promote its mission and is the only organization in Oregon that focuses exclusively on promoting and creating safe schools and communities for GLBTQ students, staff and parents.
OSSCC hosts the Oregon GSA Network website, and nurtures GSA’s statewide. We collaborate on the Queer Youth Summit held each Spring at Portland State University. Since the passage of the Oregon Safe Schools Act in 2009, OSSCC has taken leadership to help implement this legislation. We have expanded our Mission to create safe schools for all students and focus most of our efforts on making sure that all schools are complying with this law. Currently we are collecting anti-bullying policies from school districts and we convene roundtables with our Coalition members to strengthen networks to monitor implementation efforts, and to share expertise and resources.