The
Human Rights Campaign today applauded the
re-introduction of the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) in the U.S.
House by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA). SSIA would amend the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act to require schools and districts
receiving federal funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically
prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the basis of actual or
perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The Act would also
require that states report data on bullying and harassment to the
Department of Education.
“Bullying remains an epidemic in our schools and occurs at alarming
rates based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said HRC
President Chad Griffin. “We thank Congresswoman Sanchez for her
continued leadership in protecting our nation’s young people by once
again introducing the Safe Schools Improvement Act.”
“We owe it to our children to protect them and make sure they have a
safe and comfortable learning environment at school,” said Rep. Linda
Sanchez. “We are failing our students if they are afraid to come to
school because they face daily threats and intimidation. Bullying can
destroy a student’s self-esteem and wreck their academic progress. No
child deserves to be bullied or harassed, and it’s time we made this
violent and destructive behavior a relic of the past.”
Bullying and harassment of students who are, or are perceived to be,
LGBT is widespread. While current federal law provides important support
to promote school safety, it does not comprehensively and expressly
focus on issues of bullying or harassment, and in no way addresses the
challenges faced by LGBT youth in our nation’s schools.
Currently 17 states, plus the District of Columbia, have enacted laws
prohibiting harassment and/or bullying of elementary, middle school, and
high school students based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Every other state, with the exception of Montana, has a law prohibiting
bullying in schools but lists no categories of protection. Lack of
enumeration often effectively means a lack of protections for LGBT
students.
HRC’s recent survey of LGBT youth
reinforces the need to escalate the effort to end bullying and
harassment. The survey found over half of LGBT youth (54 percent) say
they have been verbally harassed and called names involving anti-gay
slurs. While non-LGBT youth say their top concerns are classes and
getting into college, LGBT youth rate bullying as one of their top
worries.
The HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools program provides elementary
schools with professional development, family engagement tools, and
classroom strategies to embrace family diversity, avoid gender
stereotyping, and end bullying and name-calling. Currently, 193 schools
in 31 school districts across the country are using Welcoming Schools.
For more information, visit www.welcomingschools.org.
Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) re-introduced SSIA in the Senate in February.