Womenstake.org/Jesse Krohn-National Women's Law Center/May 21,2010
AL FRANKEN: (D) Senator for Minn.: Introduces Student Non-Discrimination Act
Yesterday Senator Franken introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), a bill that bans discrimination in public schools based on one’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill is modeled after Title IX and other federal laws that prohibit discrimination by recipients of federal funds. If enacted, the bill would provide protection against discrimination in schools, including a range of effective remedies to enforce that protection.
This is good news for students around the country. As recent attention to the serious nature of harassment of children and youth in schools makes clear, this protection against LGBT discrimination in schools will be meaningful. A recent study out of Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that LGBT youth are bullied at two to three times the rate of their peers. The problem is not limited to LGBT youth, but extends to heterosexual youth who are taunted for being "gay" or for perceived inadequacies in their gender performance.
It's worth noting that Title IX also provides protection against gender-based harassment and the punishing use of stereotypes in school; in a recent case, Theno v. Tonganoxie Unified School Dist No. 464, a male student who was subject to taunting, name-calling and sexual jokes and gestures regarding his perceived lack of masculinity and a vicious rumor that he had masturbated in a school bathroom while the school district looked on indifferently was allowed to recover under Title IX. SNDA would help other students victimized like Dylan Theno. There are real consequences for victims of such harassment—their quality of education is severely depleted; their risk of poor attendance and performance is increased, as is the likelihood of depression and self-harm.
Senator Franken has secured 22 co-sponsors for the bill and we have high hopes for the success of SNDA.
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario