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Loading ...Amendment would include LGBT students in Federal bully law
05.08.2009 11:57am EDT
(Washington) Legislation that would amend federal anti-bullying law to include sexual orientation and gender identity has been re-introduced in Congress.
The Safe Schools Improvement Act was filed in the House by Reps Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).It would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act – part of the No Child Left Behind Act – to require schools and districts receiving federal funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as race and religion. It would require states to include bullying and harassment data in their state-wide needs assessments reporting.
Current federal law provides important federal support to promote school safety, but does not comprehensively and expressly focus on issues of bullying or harassment.
The legislation is supported by LGBT rights groups.
“Tragically, last month alone, two eleven-year-old boys, Carl Joseph Walker Hoover and Jaheem Herrera, took their own lives after suffering bullying by classmates who perceived them to be gay. Their deaths remind us of the true costs of anti-LGBT school bullying and harassment to our families and communities,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
“We place our children in grave danger when we fail to adequately help school administrators and teachers create safe learning environments for all students, including those who are, or are perceived to be, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,” Solmonese said in a statement.
“Bullying is a serious public health crisis that affects countless young people every day in America’s schools. The recent suicides by two young boys who experienced constant bullying at school are a tragic reminder that more needs to be done to address the problem,” said Eliza Byard, director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
Bullying and harassment of students who are or are perceived to be LGBT is widespread, studies have shown.
In the 2007 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, nearly three-fifths of students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third felt unsafe because of their gender expression.
In addition, 44 percent of LGBT students surveyed reported experiencing physical harassment and 22 percent reported being physically assaulted at school in the last year.
Numerous education, health, law enforcement and youth development organizations support federal legislation to combat bullying and harassment, including the American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American School Health Association, National Association of School Psychologists, National Education Association and National Parent Teacher Association.
Most of the comments made on this site by the Taliban Christians have no basis in fact whatsoever. They will parrot the nonsense produced by Focus on the Family or the local BS that comes for the pulpit. You will also notice that when they are challenged you never hear from them again. Or they will quote from the 2nd Book of Constipation, Chapter 4, verses 2 and 3. Most, if not all, of these people suffer from an advanced state of mental constipation – hopeless.
RJ it is obvious that you have no background in mental heath or child psychology. Next if children are not born gay then they are not born straight. Therefore children have been subject to brainwashing techniques by parents that have gender identity disorders and borderline neurotic disorders. Disorders which allow them to train their children to hate and to delight in torturing other children through physical and psychological means. Shall we not forget the boy that shot and killed his 11 year-old class mate because the other boy was gay.
Sorry hatred is not a family values. Even though it was obvious that is what your family has taught yours and probably what you have taught your own children.
Not sure who wrote this, but you can’t “amend” federal anti-bullying laws to “include” GLBT students, because no such laws exist. So for once, the LGBT community would finally be included right from the start in a law meant to protect everyone… and it actually wouldn’t leave them out in the beginning, only to be included years, decades, or even centuries later.
@RJ
It would behoove YOU to understand what the scientific community agrees upon when it comes to sexuality. I’ve provided a link for your own education:
http://www.apa.org/topics/sorientation.html
RJ
Go off somewhere and just fucking die already. I’ve been coming here for months and your ugliness knows no bounds. BEING GAY IS NOT A MENTAL DISORDER.
YOUR kind were pushed out of Psychology in the 70s, around the same time they got rid of “gender identity disorder” in the DSM-II (now DSM-IV)
Since children are not born gay, shouldn’t we be addressing the primary caretaker environment to ascertain why this child has such low esteem and is potentially gender identity disordered? It would behoove the scientific community to address placing children in borderline caretaker environments, regardless of the gender or socioeconomic status, instead protecting neurotic parents which cause psychological problems in children.
Well of course vanndean but the fact is many educators esp in the south will not protect gay students, students perceived to be gay, or students of gay parents. If it is federally protected and required of them to do so then maybe some of them will take action. And when I say many I don’t mean a majority I don’t have anything against teachers or administrators but it doesn’t take a majority to ruin a school.
ALL students should be protected from being bullied. Not just the straight ones and not just the gay ones and not just the white ones and not just the black one and not just the Hispanic ones and not just the Asian ones and not just the disabled ones but ALL of them.