Safe Schools State(ment) - July 2011

This has been a year of remarkable legislative gains, but several bills that could be harmful to LGBT students have been introduced. Fortunately, the majority of the latter bills have been stymied.

Connecticut:

Demonstrating a tremendous dedication to safe schools, Connecticut enacted two laws this year which will have a dramatic impact on the state%92s students. First, the Connecticut legislature added nondiscrimination protections based on gender identity and expression to the state nondiscrimination law. This means that, in addition to other protections, transgender students will have protection against discrimination in schools. Connecticut had been one of the few states that provided nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation but not gender identity and expression.

Connecticut also passed a comprehensive anti-bullying bill, the thirteenth such bill in the nation. The bill had originally lacked specific protections for LGBT students, but strong testimony and advocacy efforts from GLSEN Connecticut and others persuaded lawmakers to include these essential protections. This legislation will address bullying and harassment through a comprehensive approach which involves clear investigation guidelines, reporting, and professional development for educators. Congratulations to the advocates who worked so hard to pass these bills and to Connecticut for having a banner legislative year!

Rhode Island:

We are happy to report that Rhode Island has recently passed the nation%92s fourteenth anti-bullying law with language that specifically protects LGBT students. This is a momentous victory for students in Rhode Island, and we commend the lawmakers who supported this bill. Research has continually shown that laws with this specific enumeration of characteristics are simply more effective-- they result in a greater feeling of student safety, less absenteeism, greater reporting of incidents of bullying when they occur, and increased intervention by teachers. We believe that this new law will make a critical difference for Rhode Island students.

Maine:

We tracked two important bills that were considered in Maine this year. The first was a bill which would have weakened the state%92s Human Rights law by creating exceptions to its protections for transgender people. Currently the Maine Human Rights Law provides nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. However, some lawmakers would like to carve holes in the law by refusing to allow transgender people to access public facilities that coincide with the way they live their lives. Unfortunately, this would also impact transgender students in Maine, who are already the subject of extremely high levels of bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Of course this measure is completely unnecessary; the laws protecting transgender Mainers have been in place for five years without incident. We are happy to report that the bill was defeated by wide margins in both chambers with substantial bipartisan support. It is often said that bills which affect bathroom usage are the %93Achilles%92 heel%94 of transgender rights organizing, and I think it is so important that advocates in Maine such as EqualityMaine, the Maine Civil Liberties Union, and the Maine GLSEN Chapters were able to help prove that maxim wrong.

Maine also considered a strong anti-bullying bill which would have created comprehensive protections for all Maine students. The bill enjoyed strong bipartisan support, but unfortunately an opposition group spread false information about the bill that turned away many of the measure%92s Republican cosponsors. The group claimed that this critical anti-bullying is %93ideological%94 and impedes First Amendment protections. In truth, the only thing ideological was this group%92s opposition%97they would rather deny protections to all Maine students than allow LGBT students to be protected from bullying and harassment. In the end, after some acrimonious debate between supporters and opponents, the bill was defeated. However, the bill was reassigned to committee, and so we can and will push to have this anti-bullying measure passed next year.

District of Columbia:

The comprehensive anti-bullying legislation being considered in the District is moving along swiftly, although not without minor complications. There was an unusual mid-year reassignment of committees, and new staff will be working to pass this measure. Still, we do not believe this will unduly delay this measure%97the bill has a great deal of support from community members and lawmakers alike. This bill is unique among anti-bullying bills in that it reaches to prevent bullying and harassment beyond solely the school context. We believe that the bill will be expanded to include all youth service agencies in the District.