Students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) are subject to pervasive discrimination, including harassment, bullying, intimidation and violence, and have been deprived of equal educational opportunities, in schools in every part of our nation. Numerous social science studies demonstrate that discrimination at school has contributed to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, adverse health consequences and academic under achievement among LGBT youth. When left unchecked, such discrimination can lead, and has led to, life-threatening violence and suicide.
Federal statutory protections expressly address discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex and disability. Unfortunately, federal civil rights laws do not expressly protect students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As a result, students and parents have limited legal recourse to redress for this type of discrimination.
The Solution
The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) prohibits any school program or activity receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating against any public school student on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, the SNDA prevents discrimination against any public school student because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of a person with whom a student associates or has associated. The Act allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of these prohibitions in a judicial proceeding. The SNDA is modeled after Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and provides legal recourse to redress such discrimination.
