Safe Schools State(ment) - February 2011

State legislative sessions are well underway, and this year has brought a mix of very promising safe schools bills and very disappointing legislative measures that harm and isolate LGBT students. GLSEN is working with partner organizations to stymie these negative measures.

Tennessee - We are particularly concerned about two bills currently pending in Tennessee - the "Don't Say Gay" bill and a new anti-student club bill. The "Don't Say Gay" bill, which would prevent all discussion of or materials relating to any sexual orientation (except heterosexuality) in schools, has been introduced for the fourth time in the state legislature. These sorts of laws endanger LGBT students by denying them access to resources in schools. In the past we have been successful in organizing with state organizations such the Tennessee Equality Project and the Transgender Transgender Political Coalition to kill this bill and we hope to do so again.

The second bill would undermine supportive student clubs like Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) and all extracurricular activities by requiring notification and parental opt-out to join any club. GLSEN's research demonstrates that GSAs can provide safe spaces for LGBT students and contribute to a more welcoming school environment overall. In schools with a GSA, LGBT students reported less victimization (24.2% reporting high victimization in schools with GSAs vs. 34.7% in schools without.) This bill is not just dangerous from an LGBT perspective, but is burdensome to school officials and would cripple extracurricular clubs. School clubs undertake a wide variety of activities in school - it would be very difficult for administrators to figures out exactly what interactions are occurring and then take steps to both notify parents and exclude students from particular interactions.

New Hampshire - A bill proposed in the state House (HB370) would strip three critical provisions from the anti-bullying law that passed last year. Even though the anti-bullying law passed only last year by wide margins, several Representatives are now trying to undermine this law and endanger New Hampshire students. This bill would remove enumerated language from the law's purpose section, severely narrow the number of situations where schools can take action on cyberbullying, and eliminate the waiver based on student safety to the law's parental notification requirements. This waiver provision is particularly critical to ensure the safety of LGBT students, who are often afraid to report bullying and harassment and may suffer repercussions at home if they are outed by school officials. There will be a hearing on this bill on March 1st. GLSEN New Hampshire as well as many other partner organizations will recruit students, parents, teachers, and experts to testify against this harmful bill.

Massachusetts - Attorney General Coakley held a hearing of the Commission to Review Statutes Relative to Implementation of the School Bullying Law on February 9th. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released a Model Bullying Prevention plan in August and the hearing was an opportunity to make suggestions and comments. GLSEN and GLSEN Massachusetts provided testimony regarding the importance of full enumeration in the law and the need for notification procedures that respect the safety and well being of LGBT students. GLSEN fully supports healthy communication between educators and parents to realize the successful educational development and well-being of every student. It is important to note, however, that part of ensuring the education and well-being of every student is considering individual circumstances; therefore GLSEN's testimony reinforced that principals consider notification as they would any other educationally-relevant decision, considering the educational appropriateness as well as the health, well-being, and safety of any students involved. Unfortunately, many LGBT students who are outed may face negative repercussions such as abuse and ejection from the home.

Texas - GLSEN's advocacy in Texas on the no promo homo repeal bill (HB 604) has already made progress; we have assembled a strong coalition of local organizations supporting this important legislation. Moreover, the bill has been assigned to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, where we believe it has the potential to receive a fair hearing. Next, we will focus on building coalition support and encouraging Committee members to hold a hearing on the measure.

Oklahoma - GLSEN is working with state advocates such as PFLAG, Equality Oklahoma, and the Children's Consortium of Tulsa to support HB 1461 - a comprehensive, enumerated anti-bullying measure introduced in the House by Rep. Denney. We agreed to help support the upcoming lobby day and rally on March 23rd in Oklahoma City in support of this crucial legislation. GLSEN also participated in the recent Conference for Change in Tulsa, discussing with students and educators ways in which they can help to reduce bullying and harassment and support GSAs in schools. We are hopeful that with the strong advocacy of our state partners and the strong support of conference participants, this important bill will soon receive a hearing.