Date of Award

December 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Cheryl Hunter

Abstract

This research examines how educational policies related to LGBTQ+ students are constructed, interpreted, and implemented across federal, state, and district-levels. It asks whether institutional intent reflects authentic commitment to equity or functions as symbolic compliance in politically contested environments. Using Portland Public Schools (PPS) as a case study, the analysis situates the district within Oregon’s affirming policy landscape and the Trump administration’s restrictive federal mandates. PPS has adopted policies, such as Administrative Directive 4.30.061 AD (2023b) and the Gender Identity Support Guide (2023a), to support queer and gender-expansive students; however, it faces a federal investigation (U.S. Department of Education, 2025b, 2025c) for actions taken in compliance with state law. This tension highlights the contradictions districts must navigate when equity policies are simultaneously affirmed locally and attacked nationally. The study uses realist evaluation to analyze how policy functions across governance systems and identifies the conditions under which inclusion is supported or constrained. A conceptual framework informed by conscientization and multicultural curriculum reform shaped the analytic approach, and these foundations guided the development of the Qualifying Understanding, Equity, and Educational Resistance (QUEER) Framework, which serves as the study’s applied evaluative tool. Findings reveal that while equity frameworks exist within Portland Public Schools and the Oregon Department of Education, gaps remain in implementation, accountability, and structural consistency. Competing federal pressures further complicate district-level commitments, creating conditions where institutional intent is often expressed in policy language but not fully realized in practice. This research contributes to broader scholarship by distinguishing performative from substantive advocacy and by introducing the QUEER Framework as a method for assessing whether policies move beyond symbolic affirmation into measurable structures of protection and support.

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