Support The Student Nondiscrimination Act (HR 4530)

Support The Student Non-Discrimination Act (HR 4530)

Greetings,

As Master’s of Social Work Students, we believe in the dignity and worth of all people and in the pursuit of social justice through social and political action. Therefore, we wish to show our support for, and hereby inform others in an effort to gain additional support for, the Student Non-Discrimination Act, H.R. 4530. The Student Non-Discrimination Act will help bring an end to the discrimination of students based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

Though federal protections exist that guard against discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, and national origin, ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity’ have yet to be included in the language of federal civil rights statutes. This remains an issue to be addressed, as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community deserves to be equally counted and protected under the same statutes.

On January 27, 2010, Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado introduced the Student Non- Discrimination Act in response to multiple instances of LGBT students being targeted with discriminatory acts. The language of the Student Non-Discrimination Act states that studies have discovered that discrimination of LGBT students, “including harassment, bullying, intimidation and violence, at school has contributed to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, adverse health consequences, academic underachievement”, and has even resulted in life threatening violence and suicide.

Two 11- year- old boys: Jaheem Herera and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, committed suicide in April of last year after enduring anti-gay bullying at school.

A female student in a public high school in Orange County, California, was repeatedly singled out for discipline (including a one-week suspension), had her sexual orientation revealed to her family without her permission by school officials, and was forced to transfer to another school in the middle of the second semester. This student, who previously had straight-A grades and a spotless disciplinary record, was punished for occasionally showing affection towards her girlfriend, even though heterosexual students were routinely allowed to hold hands, hug and kiss on campus.

In a Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) study, nearly 90% of LGBT students reported being verbally bullied at school, yet only a fifth of these students reported teachers intervening on their behalf. According to statistics provided by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human rights, LGBT students are four times more likely to commit suicide than the average student.

Action must be taken immediately to provide all students with a safe
learning environment. Please join us in support of the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which will help to ensure that discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students has no place in our country’s public schools. The legislation builds on existing civil rights protections for students, will provide LGBT students and their families with legal recourse against discriminatory treatment and reminds everyone of the worth and dignity of all people.

Thank you,

[Your name]