‘Queer’ Middle School In Phoenix Will Be Funded By Taxpayer Vouchers

A new Arizona middle school for “queer” children opening this summer will be funded by taxpayers.

The Queer Blended Learning Center, which will launch in downtown Phoenix in August, will be funded by Arizona’s education vouchers.

The school is a project of One•n•ten, an LGBT youth activist nonprofit, which will house the school at its Phoenix headquarters.

Students do not have to identify as LGBT to enroll.

One•n•ten says its mission is “to serve LGBTQ youth and young adults ages 11-24” and “enhance their lives by providing empowering social and service programs that promote self‐expression, self‐acceptance, leadership development, and healthy life choices.”

“We just had this population of sixth, seventh and eighth graders that could really benefit from a safe space to be able to really have exceptional education while also having education that pertains to their own identity,” Clayton Davenport, One•n•ten’s director of development and marketing, told The Arizona Republic.

One•n•ten’s CEO Nate Rhoton said the group started the school in response to what they called legislative and cultural “attacks” on LGBT youth.

The school will highlight LGBT subjects, although it will also teach traditional subjects like science, math, and reading.