GLSEN Lauds Introduction of Safe Schools Improvement Act in Senate

NEW YORK - GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, praises today’s introduction of the Safe Schools Improvement Act, a federal anti-bullying bill that includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, in the Senate by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and ten cosponsors.

The Safe Schools Improvement Act, which is endorsed by the nearly 70 members of the GLSEN-led National Safe Schools Partnership, will require comprehensive anti-bullying policies in our nation’s public schools. The bill was introduced in the House last year by Rep. Linda Sanchez and has 119 bipartisan cosponsors.

"GLSEN would like to thank Senator Casey for introducing this potentially lifesaving bill in the Senate," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said.

"Our nation has failed to address the pervasive problem of bullying and harassment in schools for far too long. Countless youth are denied access to an education every day because they do not feel safe in school. Passing the Safe Schools Improvement Act would go a long way toward laying the necessary foundation of support lacking in many American schools."

Nearly two-thirds of middle and high school students (65%) said they had been bullied in school in the past year, according to From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, a 2005 report from GLSEN and Harris Interactive that surveyed more than 3,000 students.

LGBT students face even higher levels of victimization. Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students (86.4%) said they had been harassed in the past year, according to GLSEN's 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students. Additionally, 60.8% said they felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation.

Both studies, however, found that students at schools with a comprehensive anti-bullying policy similar to the one required by the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which includes enumerated characteristics of students most often targeted, reported harassment at a significantly reduced rate.

Bullying creates significant adverse academic and other consequences for students. No federal law or policy exists that requires schools to address the problem, and existing state laws vary greatly in their breadth and effectiveness.

"Bullying is a national public health crisis that demands a national solution," said mother Sirdeaner Walker, whose 11-year-old son Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover took his life in Springfield, Mass., last year after enduring constant anti-gay bullying at school. "As a mother who knows the painful consequences of inaction, I urge Congress to pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act and give schools the tools they need to make their hallways and classrooms safer for all students."

Members of the National Safe Schools Partnership, which in 2007 published federal policy recommendations in Bridging the Gap in Federal Law: Promoting Safe Schools and Improved Student Achievement by Preventing Bullying and Harassment in Our Schools, include GLSEN, the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the National Association of School Psychologists, among the nearly 70 national education, health, religious, civil rights, youth development and other organizations

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About GLSEN
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community. For information on GLSEN's research, educational resources, public policy advocacy, student organizing programs and educator training initiatives, visit www.glsen.org.

About the National Safe Schools Partnership
The National Safe Schools Partnership, led by GLSEN, is an informal coalition of leading national education, health, civil rights, law enforcement, youth development and other organizations committed to ensuring that America's schools are safe for all children. To that end, members of the Partnership have joined together in support of federal policy recommendations based on long-standing research and experience.