HRC Blog

The following post is a guest post from David Fishback, Advocacy Chair for the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG, with opening comments from HRC’s Family Project Director, Ellen Kahn: As voters across the U.S. prepare to vote in primary elections next week, and coverage of the critically important November mid-term elections permeates every news channel, a reminder about the importance of school board elections to our community is timely. LGBT voters and our allies have a vested interest in the outcomes of school board elections, whether or not you are parents or have any connection to you local public schools.

Today, New York Governor David Paterson signed into law the “Dignity for All Students Act.” The act is a broad safe schools law that requires schools to adopt policies to address harassment and discrimination against students, to educate teachers and students on harassment and bullying and provides reporting requirements.

Thursday, the Justice Department filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit against the Indian River Central School District in New York. The suit was initially filed in April 2009 on behalf of Charles Pratt, a student in the Indian River Central School District. Pratt alleges he endured a decade of sexual harassment, while school employees -- ignoring multiple pleas from his parents -- allowed the hostility to intensify. Students attacked Pratt with impunity, using slurs like "faggot," "sissy" and "queer" in the presence of teachers with no repercussions. They also engaged in physical and sexual assaults against Pratt. The school district was aware of the countless incidents and did nothing. Perhaps more egregiously, the complaint alleges, the teachers and administrators in the school district also mocked Pratt themselves. Ultimately, Pratt's parents withdrew him from the school, as they saw it as the only means to prevent continued harassment.

Starting today, the Department of Education’s Office for Safe and Drug Free Schools is hosting the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit. During the two day summit, a wide range of participants (including the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services) will gather with experts from around the country to discuss the scope and impact of bullying, and what programs and policies are working best to combat it.

Today, Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) introduced the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) in the U.S. Senate. The SSIA 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 on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and religion.