California says no to LGBT harassment in schools

by Roger Sinasohn (Subscribe to Roger Sinasohn's posts)
Jun 1st 2007 10:02AM

The California state senate recently passed SB 777, also known as the Student Civil Rights Act. The new legislation creates uniform nondiscrimination standards within the state's education code and clarifies the responsibility of school officials to ensure a safe learning environment. It is an attempt to ensure that all students, including (or, perhaps, especially) those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), clearly understand the how state law protects them.

The bill was authored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, and was sponsored by Equality California (EQCA), an organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians. "Schools need clear direction -- not mixed messages -- from the state to adopt adequate policies to protect all youth," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "Inconsistencies in state law create significant gaps that leave students vulnerable to harassment and bias and unaware of their rights. SB 777 helps fill those gaps so that all youth are protected."

According to the 2006 California Healthy Kids Survey, almost a third of all seventh- to eleventh-graders have been harassed or bullied because of their actual or perceived race or ethnicity, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. That's not acceptable. "We simply have to do better in protecting our students," says Senator Kuehl, "and SB 777 is an important part of the solution."

The point, notes Kors, is to protect kids "from discrimination so they all have the opportunity to succeed in school and thrive in life." Sounds like a good idea to me.

This post is part of the second annual Blogging for LGBT Families Day event.

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